
Class JS^i^aZ 
Book .C)^ '^ - 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



THE 



TEMPLE OPENED. 



A GUIDE TO THE BOOK. 



BY 



REV. W. H. GILL, A.M., 

PASTOR OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF THE EVANGEL, ADTHOR OF 

"CREDIMUS." 




1 -^ 



PHILADELPHIA : 

PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1891. 



^^ 






Copyright, 1891, by W. H. Gill. 



Ail rights reserved. 



Wstereotype^andprinttrsj Iii. 



TO 

MES. GUSTAVUS S. BENSON, 

AND HER SON 

ME. GUSTAVUS S. BENSON, 

WHOSE DEVOTION TO THE CAUSE OF CHRIST IS AS UNWAVERING AS THEIR ZEAL 

IS UNFLAGGING, AND TO WHOSE HEARTS THE DIFFUSION OF GOD'S 

WORD AND THE SPREAD OF EVANGELICAL TRUTH BRING 

A TRUE JOy, AS A MARK OF PERSONAL ESTEEM 

AND AFFECTION, 

THE TEMPLE OPENED 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE 

AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



There is but little need to detain long on the threshold of The 
Temple Opened. It is a Guide to the Book — the Bible. And 
while it has necessarily much in common Mnth all other books 
which, under various titles, aim to perform the same office, 
The Temple Opened, besides the form in which the matter 
is presented, has much that is peculiar to itself, and which, it 
is believed, as a Text-book, will give to it a great advantage 
over any of the volumes which have preceded it in the same 
line. In fact, there is no book constructed on the same plan 
and covering the same ground now before the public. It is 
hoped, therefore, that The Temple Opened may meet in 
church literature a want and fill a vacancy not supplied by any 
other publication. 

The plan of the work is simple. Likening the Bible to a 
Temple, the Author constitutes himself a guide, placing him- 
self at the service of those who wish to become acquainted 
with the history of the Sacred Structure and the nature of 
its contents, asking and answering all such questions as the 
earnest seeker after knowledge would be likely to put. First 
viewing the structure from the outside, the inquirer is taken 
round alSout it, marking its bulwarks, considering its palaces 
and telling its towers ; and then entering its open portals, 



6 PREFACE. 

like Christian in the House of Interpreter or in the Palace 
Beautiful, he is escorted from chamber to chamber, pass- 
ing from one to another of all its Sixty-Six apartments, and 
is shown the "excellent things" of each and its "rarities" 
as well ; his attention is called to its hidden beauties, and its 
rich treasures, many of which would otherwise remain con- 
cealed from the novice, are exposed to his view. 

It is this feature of The Temple Opened that gives to it 
whatever of special value it may possess over its predecessors 
in this peculiar field ; though the arrangement of the Histori- 
cal Books of the Old Testament, the C'hapters on the Moral 
Law, the Theocracy, the Prophets, and the Hebrew Captivities, 
etc., will, it is hoped, make plain matters which ordinarily are 
quite perplexing, if not wholly unintelligible, to the average 
student of the Word ; while the matter of the Appendix, 
which is entirely new, will, it is thought, supply all charged 
with the religious instruction of the young with such material 
as can be readily taught to even the scholars in the primary 
department of the Sabbath-School, and which will prove 
to be a good foundation for a more intimate acquaintance 
with the Word in later years. 

It is hoped also that The Temple Opened may contribute, 
in some degreee at least, towards the much needed study of the 
Bible as a whole, and of the individual Books of which it is 
composed. 

In this volume, too, every young Christian may find mate- 
rial all ready to hand for the defence of himself against the 
assaults of cavillers and sceptics ; while at the same time he 
may also find much to nourish his own spiritual life and build 
himself up on his own "most holy faith." 



PREFACE. 7 

The Temple Opened is fully abreast with the discussion of 
all questions respecting the Bible, the results of recent explora- 
tions and the conclusions of critical inquiry being given in as 
few words as possible. The chapters on Inspiration and the 
Higher Criticism, it is hoped, may prove opportune owing to 
the general interest on these questions at the present time. 

While it is believed that the pages of this book may be 
turned with profit by those most familiar with the contents of 
the Sacred Volume, it has been prepared with immediate ref- 
erence to those who are just entering upon its study, and who 
desire to fit themselves to be teachers of others. 

The Temple Opened is free from sectarian bias ; at least 
the author is not conscious of having said aught that should 
give offence to any evangelical denomination. 

Suggestiveness, not exhaustiveness, has been the aim of the 
author throughout. 

The Temple Opened is neither a compilation nor wholly an 
original work. Its pages are enriched with the spoils of ex- 
tended reading and research. It may therefore be fitly termed 
a composite production ; and as special credit is nowhere given 
in the body of the book, this general statement of indebtedness 
to others is here the more unreservedly made. 

W. H. G. 

1318 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 
August 18, 1891. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

PAGE 

Man and Religion 11 

Reason and Revelation 14 

The Bible and other Sacred Books 16 

The Bible as a Revelation from God 20 

The Bible and other Authorities . 22 

The Bible and the Christian 28 

The Bible and our Country 31 

Antiquity and Writers of the Bible 34 

Chapters and Verses of the Bible 36 

The Two Latest Versions of the Bible 38 

Circulation of the Bible 41 

The Bible and its Use 43 

The Bible and the Sunday-School 45 

Inspiration of the Bible 48 

The Canon of Holy Scripture 58 

Apocrypha 70 

The Text of the Bible — Lower Criticism 72 

The Higher Criticism 78 

Bible Chronology 87 

Bible Geography 93 

The Land and the Book 108 

9 



b 



10 CONTENTS. 

PART II. 

I HE Books of the Bible m 

The Pentateuch -^1^ 

The Moral Law 202 

The Hebrew Commonwealth 210 

The Historical Books— Moses to the Monarchy .... 21 

The Historical Books— The Monarchy 236 

The Hebrew Captivities 264 

The Historical Books— The Restoration 268 

The Prophets 292 

The Nexus 345 

The New Testament 347 

The Four Gospels 35O 

The Acts 389 

The Epistles 404 

The Pauline Epistles 414 

The Non-Pauline Epistle.s 51 7 

The Apocalypse 54O 

The Appendix 547 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



PART I. 

THE BIBLE AS A BOOK. 

THE TEMPLE FROM THE OUTSIDE— THE APPROACHES TO, AND 
ARCHITECTURE OF, THE SACRED STRUCTURE. 

MAN AND RELIGION. 

1. What is man f 

Man is a being of a dual nature, the component parts of 
which are the body and the soul, the physical and the spirit- 
ual, the human and the Divine. He is not only a bodily organ- 
ism, but a spiritual personality. 

2. Wherein does man^s superiority over the lower animals 

consist ? 

In his higher nature, that which makes him man in distinc- 
tion from everything else ; that which is stamped upon him — 
the image of God. Everything else he has in common with 
the animal creation around him. 

3. In what sense is m,an in the image of God ? 

In a twofold sense : (1) in respect of the spirituality of his 
nature, man, like God, is a rational, moral, and free agent; 
and (2) in respect of the dignity and authority delegated to his 
person as the head and monarch of this part of the universe. 
(Gen. i. 28 ; ii. 19, 20. Ps. viii.) 

4. What is the distinguishing characteristic of man a^ a spirit- 
ual being f 

His religious instinct. Man is as universally and essentially 
a religious, as he is a rational, animal. Religion is a monopoly 

11 



12 



'HE TEMPLE OPENED. 



of man. Among the lower creatures we find nothing like it, 
and can discover no place for it. Religion is a distinct mark 
of humanit3^ 

5. What is religion ? 

In its widest sense the word includes all forms of belief in 
the God or gods— the powers above us, real or imaginary— on 
whom we depend, together with the feeling and practices, 
GoD-ward and man-ward, to which sucli belief leads. A man's 
real religion is the supreme fact with regard to him, and crea- 
tively determines all the rest. 

6. What is the difference between religion and morality f 

Morality is conformity to a rule of right, while religion is 
essentially a relation toward a person. Morality, irrespective 
of religion, is wholly defective in its neglect of the duty we 
owe to God. True religion involves every principle of morality, 
while morality may be destitute of the fundamental principles 
of religion. 

7. What is the nature of the True God? 

Not a mere Force, or Law, or Will, or the Great First Cause, 
or Fate, as some scientists and unbelievers are fond of describ- 
ing Him ; but a personal, spiritual, benevolent, absolutely per- 
fect. Moral Being, infinite in every attribute and perfection of 
His nature. 

8. Under tvhat general heads may the numerous forms of 
religious belief or disbelief be classified f 

Four : (1) Atheism— the denial of, or disbelief in, the exist- 
ence of a God, or Supreme, intelligent Being, as the Creator 
and Governor of the Universe ; (2) Monotheism— the behef in, 
and worship of. One God, JEHOVAir, as the Creator and Su- 
preme Moral. Governor of the Universe ; (3) Polytheism— the 
belief in and worship of many gods, each deity being assigned 
to supreme dominion in some particular department of the 
world's aflTairs ; and (4) Pantheism— the denial of the indepen- 
dent personal existence of a Supreme Being, and the assertion 
or belief that all things are God— that is, the confounding of 
God with Nature, which is practically atheism. 



MAN AND RELIGION. 13 

9. How is mankind divided as respects these form^ of re- 
ligious belief f 

Less than one-third — the Jews, Mohammedans, and Chris- 
tians — is Monotheistic, in which number is also included those 
who hold to atheistic and pantheistic views ; while two-thirds 
of the human family are non-Christian and polytheistic in 
their religious belief and corresponding practices. One-third 
of mankind, at this day, worships Confucius, and abides by 
his doctrines, and speaks of him as the equal of Heaven and 
Earth, The Teacher of Ten Thousand Ages ! 

10. What is a brief summary of the religions of the world f 

Jews 8,000,000 

Christians, nearly 400,000,000 

Mohammedans 103,500,000 

Hindus (Confucians) 139,500,000 

Buddhists (Confucians) 483,000,000 

Fetich worshippers 190,000,000 

Total 1,324,000,000 

Which is about the present population of the globe. 

11. What are the grand divisions of Christendom f 

Roman Catholics, about 200,000,000 

Protestants, a little over 110,000,000 

Greek Church 90,000,000 

Total 400,000,000 

From which it appears that only about one-fourth of our race 
is even nominally Christian, and that there are about twice as 
many Roman Catholics as Protestants in the world. 

12. How else may the religious systems of the world be classi- 
fied f 

Under two heads : (1) as to their orthodoxy, into false and 
true ; and (2) as to their source or origin, into natural and 
revealed religion. 

13. W7iat system of religion is true and what false f 

The Christian, being from God, is the only true religion ; the 
others, being of human origin, are false. By saying this, it is 
not meant that there is nothing true or good in these false 
systems. 



14 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

14. What is the office of religion 9 

To inform us (1) couceriiing God and our duty to Him; (2) 
concerning morality, or our duty to our fellows ; and (3) con- 
cerning the future life, or the final destiny of man. 

15. What is natural religion ? 

Such discoveries concerning the doctrines and principles of 
religion as can be made by our unassisted powers— by reason, 
including the moral and spiritual faculties of the soul, oper- 
ating reflectively upon the facts of consciousness, and upon the 
phenomena of external nature. 

16. What is revealed religion f 

That supernatural knowledge of God, of man, of redemption, 
and of human destiny, contained in the Holy Scriptures. 

17. What is the difference between natural and i^evealed 
religion ? 

Revealed religion recognizes and embraces all the truths dis- 
covered by the light of nature or unassisted reason ; but it also 
comprehends many other truths which it could not have 
entered into the mind of man to conceive, touching God and 
our relations to Him, as a fallen creature. Revealed religion is 
the religion of sinners, and consequently the only religion with 
which we are immediately concerned. 



REASON AND REVELATION. 

18. What is the great subject of controversy between infidels 
and Christians f 

Whether, without any supernatural assistance in the investi- 
gation of religion, man can attain all the knowledge and ac- 
quire all the power necessary to conduct him to virtue and 
happiness here and hereafter. 

19. What is the testimony of history and experience to the 
competency of reason as a guide in matters of religion f 

That it is utterly insufficient of itself to acquire a correct 
knowledge of the great truths of right religion. In the entire 
course of human history, reason has never availed to afford 



REASON AND REVELATION. 15 

man religious comfort and certainty, and to lead him in the 
way of moral rectitude. (Rom. i. 18-32 ; Acts xxvii. 22-31 ; 
1 Cor. i. 20, 21.) 

20. What is the voice of history and experience cbs to the com- 
petency as a guide and comforter, and as to the moral tenden- 
cies and effects, of revealed religion ? 

That it has proved itself all-sufficient in the cases of all who 
have honestly availed themselves of its offices ; while a compari- 
son of Christendom, even where it is least pure, with the condi- 
tion of the heathen world, is a standing testimony to the salu- 
tary tendencies and effects of its doctrine upon individual, 
social, and national life. 

21. How may revealed religion be regarded ? 

As (1) objective, or theoretical; (2) subjective, or practical. 
That is, as a system of holy doctrine, or of active, holy princi- 
ples. The first is truth, the second is piety. 

22. What is the office of reason in relation to revealed religion f 

This is twofold: (1) as a judge of evidences, to determine 
what is Divine Revelation ; and (2) to interpret, with the help 
of every light of the most various learning, the records of 
Revelation, and to determine impartially what God has made 
know^to us therein. 

23. Is reason of itself sufficient for these things? 

No ; it can accomplish this much successfully only as it is 
informed by a sanctified heart, and guided by the illumination 
of the HoDY Spirit. 

24. What is faith f 

In general terms, faith is assent to truth upon the exhibition 
of appropriate evidence. 

25. What is faith in the sphere of revealed religion ? 

The assent of the mind to truth, upon the testimony of God, 
conveying knowledge to us through supernatural channels, 
whether we can compreliend what is so conveyed or not. 



16 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE BIBLE AND OTHER SACRED BOOKS. 

26. Whe?'e may he found the authoritative records of the Re- 
vealed Religion ? 

In the volume sacred to Christians, commonly called the 
Bible. 

27. Whence this title for the Christian' s Sacred Book? 

The word "Bible" is not a Biblical word at all, but is de- 
rived from the Greek plural noun, ta Biblia, meaning the 
books, or the little books. This title was applied to the whole 
collection of sacred writings by Chrysostom, the "golden- 
mouthed" bishop of Constantinople, soon after the settle- 
ment of the Canon — the Bible as we now have it— some four 
hundred years after Christ ; and it was not till the 13th cen- 
tury that they began to be familiarly spoken of in the singu- 
lar number, as a single book— the Bible. The early Christians 
always spoke of them as " The Books," rather than as " The 
Book," and their name was more accurate than ours. 

28. What, then, is the Bible f 

It is a collection of books, rather than one book. It is the 
sixty-six volumes of Divinely inspired literature, as we have 
them, bound together in one Book ; the whole covering a period 
of some sixteen hundred years, and constituting God's text- 
book for the spiritual instruction and salvation of the human 
family. It is in reality a library, composed of biography, his- 
tory, poetry, laws, political economy, military annals, fiction, 
morals, and theology. 

29. By ivhat other names is the sacred volume known ? 

(1) It is called " the Scripture," " the Scriptures," and " the 
Holy Scriptures," to indicate the pre-eminence of the "Writ- 
ings" in the Sacred Volume above all other compositions. 

(2) As it is the utterance of Divine wisdom and love, as the 
basis of the faith of the feeblest Christian, and " worthy of all 
acceptation," it is called " the Word," and " the Word of God" 
— titles at once the most impressive and complete. 

(3) In contrast with the Book of Nature, in which God has 
also made Himself known, it is called the Book of Revelation. 



THE BIBLE AND OTHER SACRED BOOKS. 17 

(4) As the authoritative standard of reUgion and morality, 
it is sometimes called the Canon, from a Greek word which 
signifies a rule or law. 

(5) As the repository of Divine knowledge, containing the 
"responses" of God to men, and in evident allusion to its 
supernatural origin, the Bible is called in the Scriptures them.- 
selves, "the Oracles of God." 

30. To what may the Bible as a Book he compared f 

To a great Temple (hence the title of this volume), massive 
in its magnitude, of stately, rich, and impressive architecture, 
with storied windows, the product of many generations, but 
of One Inspiring Spirit, externally grand and internally glo- 
rious ; its foundation the Pentateuch, and its dome the Apoca- 
lypse ; the Outer Court, the letter of the Bible ; the Inner Court, 
or Holy Place, the truth of the Bible ; the Holiest of All, God 
in Jesus Christ ; and only when we pass the inmost veil do 
we come to Him. 

31. How may the title of the Sacred Book itself and the other 
names by which so many of its parts are known, be regarded? 

As after-glow inspirations, a sort of scriptural aurora borealis. 
It was after the only true Sun of Inspiration went down for- 
ever beneath the horizon, that this beautiful afterglow of sup- 
plemental light began, which aids so wonderfully in revealing 
the hidden glories of the Book. These Bible-titles—" the Gos- 
pels," "the Prodigal Son," "the Rich Man and Lazarus," etc. 
—are beautiful orchids growing about the Tree of Life, that no 
human hand can now detach from their parent stock. 

32. What are the various symbols under which the uses, and 
the ranges and scope of the a2Dplication of the Bible to the needs 
of men, are set forth f 

These are Seven : (1) The Mirror, to show ourselves as we are 
and may be (Jas. i. 25) ; (2) the Laver, to wash away our sin 
and defilement (Ex. xxx. 17-21 ; Eph. v. 26) ; (3) the Lamp and 
Lantern, to guide us in the right way (Ps. cxix. 105) ; (4) the 
Milk, Bread, Strong Meat, and Honey, affording sustenance 
and satisfaction to the believer, at all stages of spiritual de- 
velopment (Heb. V. 12-14 ; Ps. xix. 10) ; (5) the Fine Gold, to 

2 



18 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

enrich us with heavenly treasure (Ps. xix. 10) ; (6) tlie Fire, 
Hammer, Sword, to be used in tlie worlv and warfare of life 
(Jer. xxiii. 29 ; Heb. iv. 12 ; Eph. vi. 17) ; (7) the Seed, to l>eget 
souls in God's image and to plant harvest-fields for Him (Jas. 
i. 18 ; 1 Pet. i. 23 ; Matt. xiii). 

33. Is (he Bible the only hook esteemed sacred by men 9 

No ; there is a number of other books which are held in the 
same esteem by tliose who believe in them, as the Bible is 
among Christians. 

34. What are the other j^rominent sacred books of the ivorldf 

The Koran, the Bible of the Mohammedans; the Zenda- 
vesta, the Bible of the Persians ; the Shasters and the Vedas, 
the sacred books of India ; the books of Buddha, which contain 
the religion of at least one-third of the human family ; and the 
writings of Confucius, which are also regarded as sacred by 
about one-third of the human family, though they are rather 
of a philosophical than a religious character; and the book 
of Mormon, in our own country. 

35. How does the Bible in a literary way compare with the 
other sacred books of the world ? 

It is immeasurably superior. The sacred books of the false 
religions are hard reading, as a rule, dry and uninteresting. 
Comparatively barren of that which serves to lift tlie soul or 
even edify the intelligence, they contain but few expressions 
of poetical inu\gery which approach in beauty and sublimity 
those in the Bible— only a gleaming line to about a hundred 
pages of dreary intellectual and spiritual desert. 

36. In what other respects is the Bible superior to the sacred 
books of other religions f 

In the divinity of its origin ; in the catholicity of its sjjirit ; 
in the heavenliness of its matter ; in the efficacy of its doctrine ; 
in the majesty of its style ; in its scojoe and aim — glory to God ; 
and in the full discovery it makes of the only way of human 
salvation. The Bible is the one book which claims God for its 
author, unmixed truth for its contents, and salvation for its 
end. 



THE BIBLE AND OTHER SACRED BOOKS. 19 

37. To what conclusion does an impartial examination and 
comparison of the Bible with the other sacred books of the world 
force the candid inquirer ? 

That the one is the Book of God, and the others books of 
men. They are to the Bible what the stars of midnight are to 
the hght of the sun. "The Light of Asia" is but darkness 
when compared with the glorious radiance of the blessed Book 
of God. This even candid heathens are themselves com- 
pelled to admit. 

38. What are some of the points of difference between the 
sacred books of the heathen and the Bible ? 

The glorious hopefulness that characterizes the Bible from 
beginning to end is entirely wanting in the heathen books ; 
the absence from the Bible of scientific errors with which 
every heathen book abounds — the Koran has them on ahiiost 
every page ; its historical character, in which respect the Bible 
stands alone among the sacred books of the world ; the wells 
of salvation and the rivers of life and peace with which the 
Bible abounds, and of which tlie sacred books of the heathen 
are entirely destitute, are so many respects in which the Bible 
differs from all other sacred books, making its infinite supe- 
riority to them all at once apparent and conspicuous. 

39. Whcd is the difference in the way in which. Confucius and 
Christ state the Golden Bute f 

Confucius puts it negatively, thus : " Do not unto others what 
you would not that others should do to you ;" while our Lord 
puts it positivel}^, thus : "Do unto others as ye would that 
others should do unto you." 

40. WTiat is the grand central idea of the Bible ? 

Holiness : not Righteousness simply, but Holiness. The 
whole machinery of Redemption has for its aim the realizing 
of this end — Holiness to .Jehovah. In this respect the Bible 
is vastly superior to the other sacred books of the world. 

41. ^VIlat is the relation of the Bible to other books f 

It is independent of all others ; it imitates no other book ; 
it copies none, and rarelj'- ever quotes from any. John never 
speaks of Plato, nor Paul of Demosthenes, nor Jesus of any 
writer save Moses and the Prophets. It is the Book out of 



20 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

which all other books are made, just as the earth is the quarry 
out of which all its palaces have been dug, and the forest the 
source whence its most polished timbers have been cut. It is the 
one only original and independent Book — the Book of books. 

42. What is (he position of the Bible amid the literature of the 
world ? 

It is the sun in the centre of all other religious records, judg- 
ing all that is hostile in them, reconciling and bringing into 
liberty whatever elements of truth they may contain ; while it 
stands also with a like repelling and attracting force in the 
centre of all secular or profane literature. 

43. Has the supremacy of the Bible been contested f 

Yes ; it has been obstinately and long resisted — but resisted 
in vain. For ages has this artless, loosely-piled little Book 
been exposed to the fire of the keenest investigation— a fire 
which, meanwhile, has consumed contemptuously the my- 
thology of the Iliad, the husbandry of the Georgics, the histor- 
ical truth of Livy, the fables of the Shaster, the Talmud, and 
the Koran, the artistic merit of many a popular poem, and the 
autliority of many a work of philosophy and science. And yet, 
there the Bible lies, unhurt, untouched, with not one of its 
pages singed — with not even the smell of fire having passed 
upon it. 

44. Will the Bible ever be superseded ? 

No ; unlike the sacred books of other religions (which are 
all of them ethnic or local), the Bible is a Book for all the 
races of the world, and for all the generations of the world, to 
the end of time ; the system of doctrine and duty it contains, 
being one of unimprovable perfection, is a fixed and final 
system, not a provisional or progressive one as introductory to 
a higher and a better ; hence the Bible will never become 
obsolete, and will never be supplemented by any other reve- 
lation. 

THE BIBLE AS A REVELATION FROM GOD. 

45. How may the necessity for a revelation from. God be 
shown 9 

From the state of mankind without the Bible : the ignorance 
of man concerning God and himself, and the failure of the 



THE BIBLE AS A REVELATION FROM GOD. 21 

philosophers to construct a complete and coherent system of 
religion. 

46. How may ive be satisfied that in the Bible we have a reve- 
lation from God? 

(1) By the marks it bears of a Divine origin ; (2) by the 
character of its friends ; (3) by its distinction from all other 
books ; (4) by its adaptation to human need ; (5) by the exhaust- 
lessness of its interest ; (6) by the permanence of its value ; (7) 
by the unity of its parts ; (8) by its influence on character and 
conduct ; (9) by its preservation, having survived and outlived 
all the attacks which have been made upon it. 

47. What are some of the peculiarities of the Bible as a reve- 
lation from. God ? 

It is a revelation of God and of human nature ; it is a reve- 
lation of spiritual religious truth, not of science or philosophy ; 
it is a gradual and progressive revelation ; it is a revelation of 
holy principles for application to Christian life, and not, as the 
Koran and the sacred books of other religions, a set of rules 
for the performance of human duty ; it is a revelation remark- 
able for its unity, its singleness of moral purpose, and the har- 
mony of al] its various parts. 

48. WJiat is the distinguishing eharacteristie of the Bible as a 
book? 

Its Divine humanness. It is God's Book and it is man's 
book — the most human of books in revealing man to himself. 
Its grand idea is, that we need not merely a revelation of God, 
but of man's nature as well. Hence, the Bible is not a Divine 
Monologue, but an amazing Dialogue of the ages between 
Heaven and earth. It records how both God spoke, and how 
man answered, or rather how God is ever speaking, and how 
man is ever responding. And this, while it reveals God in 
His infinite mysteries that we may understand Him, it no less 
fully reveals man in the dreadful mysteries of his nature, that 
he may understand himself. 

49. Hoiv may the different evidences of the truth of the Bible 
be classified ? 

Under two general heads : (1) External, and (2) Internal. 



22 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

50. What is embraced under External Evidence ? 

(1) Historical testimonj^, (2) Miracles, and (3) Prophecy : all 
appealing to the senses. 

51. What is included in Internal Evidence f 

The Bible itself considered (1) morally, and (2) spiritually — 
all evidence appealing (1) to the conscience, and (2) to the in- 
tellectual perceptions, and to the renewed nature generally. 

52. In how manij forms is truth revealed in the Bible? 

Three : (1) authoritatively, as law ; (2) historically, by way 
of example ; (3) in promise or in doctrine. Each form, how- 
ever, often involves the other : a command includes a doctrine ; 
a doctrine, a promise ; and botli doctrine and promise, corre- 
spondent duty. 

THE BIBLE AND OTHER AUTHORITIES. 

53. What arc the chief sources of Divine authority among men f 
Three : The Bible, the Reason, and the Church. These are 

not, however, to be understood as of co-ordinate or equal au- 
thority, the two latter being in all cases subordinate to the 
former. 

54. What 2msition docs the Bible claim for itself among these 
several Divine authorities? 

The first position, the supreme place. It claims the throne 
and assumes to be the sovereign, sole, and final authority in 
morals and religion, in state and in Church. 

55. On 2vhat is this claim to supreme authority based ? 

On the fact that it is the Word of God ; that in and through 
it God Himself speaks to the people ; that, being, as it were, 
Emanuel, God with us, its authority is the authority of God. 
Such Divine authority is the only authority to which man can, 
without degradation, yield implicit obedience, on which he 
can rest in loving certainty and build with joyous confidence. 

56. How is this claim of the Bible to Sux)rcme Divine authority 
established? 

By external testimony and its own internal witness ; to 
which may be added specifically, the testimony of our Lord 



THE BIBLE AND OTHER AUTHORITIES. 23 

Jesus Christ Himself, of the Holy Spirit, of the Apostles, 
of the Living Church in all ages, and of History. 

57. Is this claim to Supreme Divine authority on the part of 
the Bible recognized by all f 

No ; it is denied by the Papal Church, the Mystics, Ration- 
alists, and all Infidels. 

58. What is the capital error of the Papal Church f 

The subordination of the Divine authority of the Bible to 
the authority of the Church, that is, the Pope and Priests — 
the hierarchy. The Bible itself has no meaning or authority 
for Romanists, but such as the Church is pleased to grant it. 

59. Wliat^ on the contrary^ is the fundamental principle of 
evangelical Christendom and the Reformed Church f 

The Bible and the Bible alone the rule of faith and life, and 
the basis of Church authority ; or, as Luther and all his com- 
peers proclaimed at Smalcald, ^'The Word of God is the foun- 
dation of the faith ; out of that, no one, not even an angel." 
None but Christ, and nothing but the Scripture, is the essence 
of Protestantism. 

60. Wliat is the office of the Church in relation to the Bible ? 

Ministerial wholly, that is, to publish, expound, and make 
known the Word of God as contained therein ; but not Magis- 
terial and absolute, to make it Scripture, or unmake it, as she 
is pleased to allow or deny her stamp, as the Papal Church 
claims. The Church is the Servant not the Master of the 
Scriptures ; her office is subordinate, not supreme. The Bible 
is to the Church what the sun is to the clock, the latter being 
regulated by the former, and not the reverse. The Church 
rests upon the Bible, not the Bible on the Church. 

61. What is the effect or outcome of the Bapal principle of 
making Church authority su^^reme ? 

Priestly despotism — the loss of spiritual liberty and inde- 
pendence, which extends oftentimes to temporal things as well 
— tlie bondage of man to his fellow. 



24 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

62. Does the Bible recognized by the Papal Church differ from 
that of the Protestants ? 

Yes ; in two particulars : (1) it places the books known as the 
Apocrypha on a platform of equality with the canonical Scrip- 
tures ; and (2) it is corrupt in its text, differing from the origi- 
nal Hebrew and Greek in those parts especially which relate 
to Mariolatry and Penance. 

63. What is the name commonly given to the Papal Bible, 
which distinguishes it from the Protestant Scri2:>turcsf 

An English translation of the Bible from the Latin Vul- 
gate was made about the beginning of the 17th century, the 
Old Testament at Douai, in France, and the New Testament 
at Rheims, in the same country, and this version is what is 
sanctioned by the Papal Church, and commonly known as the 
Douay Bible. 

64. Is the Bible the common inheritance of all ? 

So God designed it to be ; but in the exercise of illegitimate 
and arbitrary prerogative, the Churcli of Rome wantonly and 
cruelly prohibits its use by the laity, substituting therefor 
Mass Books and Manuals of Devotion, which contain much 
that is at once absurd, superstitious, and even blasphemous. 

65. What is the effect of this prohibition of the Bible to the 
laity 9 

Spiritual ignorance and blind bigotry on the part of the 
masses, the loss of their GoD-given independence— the Magna 
Charta of their liberties— and their complete subjugation to 
priestly domination. 

66. Who are the Mystics ? 

Those who pretend that the reign of the Spirit and that of 
the Letter are two hostile and incompatible powers ; that truth 
comes from an "inner light" or spiritual illumination, inde- 
pendent of Scripture ; and that w^hen placed face to face with 
the Bible, one possesses inwardly the principle of a spiritual 
choice, which teaches what should be chosen and what re- 
jected. The Mystics belong chiefly to the Society of Friends, 
or Quakers, as they are more commonly called. 



THE BIBLE AND OTHER AUTHORITIES. 25 

67. What is the error in the doctrine of the Mystics ? 

It substitutes individual independence and choice for sub- 
mission to tlie Divine Word. It displaces the authority, so 
that instead of being objective in the Bible, it is for them sub- 
jective in the individual ; whereas we must not subject the 
Word of God either to our judgment or desires, but rather im- 
plicitly follow its directions. 

68. Hoiv does this subjective principle, or Individualism, differ 
from the principle of the Papal Church f 

The substitution of the individual authority of man for the 
authority of God in Scripture, is the principle of License ; 
while the substitution of the authority^of the Church for that 
of God, is Despotism. 

69. Hoiu do both these systems differ from the true Christian 
principle f 

Individualism wishes for liberty without authority ; the 
Papal system desires authority without liberty ; while the 
system which God has ordained, by establishing for all an 
inflexible and immutable standard in the written Word, com- 
bines, in an admirable manner, authority and liberty. It re- 
presses on the one side despotism, on the other licentiousness. 
Before its sovereign power the gates of Hell close. 

70. How many Schools of Mystics are there ? 

Two : (1) the more moderate or Christian school, which rec- 
ognizes the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures ; and (2) the 
Rationalistic school, which, denying this inspiration, sees in 
them only the productions of holy men, religious heroes, illus- 
trious Christians, who had personally seen the things of which 
they spoke — the noble accent of the human voice. The first 
school is known as the Orthodox Friends, and the second, the 
Hicksite Quakers. 

71. Who are Rationalists f 

Those Avho, denying the supernatural origin of Christianity 
and Divine revelation, and rejecting all supernatural guidance 
and aid in matters of religion, elevate Reason to the bench, and 
constitute her the sole judge and supreme authority in all 



26 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

things pertaining to faith and duty. Among rationahsts are 
classed deists, free-thinkers, and infidels, in all their Protean 
shapes and forms. 

72. How does Christianity regard these minor authorities and 
moral forces f 

As subsidiary and auxiliary : the ministry of the Church, the 
illumination of the Spirit, and the right use of Reason are, in 
God's ordination, the choicest helps by which we believe, by 
which we see the Law of God and Will of God, but they are 
not that law itself, nor that will itself, but are subject to God's 
Word as that which secures our consciences. 

73. What relation docs the Bible sustain to the conscience ? 

It holds the office not of a rival, but acts as the instructor 
and assistant of the conscience and the reason or moral sense. 
God's other lights are not extinguished, but made to burn all 
the brighter, and give a truer guidance to man, when enlight- 
ened and quickened by the Word. Hence the office of the 
Bible is to make the conscience an enlightened Christian con- 
science — the reason an enlightened reason. 

74. Is there any want of harmony between the Bible and Mod- 
ern physical Science f 

No ; while it is no part of God's plan to reveal scientific 
truth in His Word, yet He has left ample verge and scope for 
it. And in the progress of science, the indentations of the two 
revolving wheels will be found to fit, whenever they really 
come in contact ; and the only thing broken will be the pre- 
mature human liarmonizings whicli are thrust in between 
them. The two books — Nature and Revelation— are by the 
one Author ; and, when each is fully understood, they will be 
found to be in perfect accord the one with the other. The 
alarms sounded on this score so frequently in the past, have 
been proved to be premature and groundless. And it will be 
so in the future. 

75. 7s the Bible under any obligations to science f 

Yes ; science may be, as science has already been, a guide to 
a sounder understanding of some things in the Word of God. 



THE BIBLE AND OTHER AUTHORITIES. 27 

By her light false interpretations of some portions of Scripture 
have been corrected ; but by her Discoveries the Book itself — 
the Truth of God — will never be shaken. 

76. What will be the result of using the facts of science to 
undermine this Temple of Truth^ the Word of God ? 

It will resemble the result wrought by some angry torrent, 
when, sweeping away soil and sand and rubbisii, it lays bare, 
and thereby makes more plain, the solid rock on which the 
house stands, unmoved and unmovable. 

77. What is the answer to the objection, that the Bible as an 
authority from without and above us, lays a yoke upon the reason 
and conscience, and m^akes them, subject to a degrading tyranny f 

Such a gift can never be irksome and oppressive to any but 
the proud, the self-willed, and the profane. It is not reason 
and conscience, but rather Satanic pride which refuses to sit 
humbly at the feet of the Lord. It does not subject us to the 
st rokes of arbitrary power or a galling tyranny ; for it is neces- 
sary first to receive, by the free convictions of our own minds, 
the rule which the Bible gives to us. 

78. What is the answer to the sneer, that in enthroning the 
Bible, Protestants but substitute one authority for another — the 
Bible for the Church f 

The submission to the authority of the Bible is submission to 
God Himself, Who speaks in and through that Book to man. 
Submission on the part of man to such authority is but sub- 
mission to the highest reason. There is no degradation or 
tyranny in jdelding to a command of God. 

79. WJiat is the answer to the sneer that Biblieism is the 
scourge of the Church? 

It is true, Biblieism, that is, the constant appeal to the au- 
thority of the Holy Scriptures, is the scourge of the Church — 
the Church of Rome — that makes the charge, and which hates 
the Word ; but so far from being the scourge of the true Church 
of Jesus Christ, it is its very life. Biblieism, however, is not 
to be confounded with Bibliolatry — a superstitious reverence 
for the Bible as a book. 



28 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

80. What answer 7)%ay he made to the objection that the Bible 
contains things inysternous^ and most directly opposed to some 
of our most deeply cherished views, and feelings, and preju- 
dices f 

A revelation to do us any good must contain such things. It 
is not given that it may be modified into an agreement with our 
views and prejudices ; for in that case it could be of no use to 
us whatever ; but that all our views, and feelings, and princi- 
ples may by it be corrected, and brought into conformity with 
the truth as therein set forth.- 



THE BIBLE AND THE CHRISTIAN. 

81. What is the essence of Christianity? 

Faith — faith in, involving obedience to, the Lord Jesus 
Christ, as the Son of God and the Saviour of the World. 

82. What is necessary to faith in religion ? 

Testimony : not the witness of men only, but the testimony 
of God also, which is absolutely necessary as a basis of faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ; for, says the apostle, "How shall 
they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard?" (Rom. 
X. 14). 

83. Where is this Divine testimony to Jesus to he found ? 

In the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, is contained the record — 
the priceless record which God has given concerning His Son 
our Saviour. 

84. Are the Scriptures alone sufficient to produce this faith 
in the individual, and to create the Church in the world f 

No ; tliese are the result of the Bible, and of the grace of 
the Holy Spirit. These two agents have always been closely 
united, and the one has never produced faith without the 
other. Christ, during his sojourn on earth, left us the one — 
the Word, and Christ sitting down in the Heavens at the 
right hand of the Father, sent us the other — the Holy 
Spirit. Wherever these two powers operate, a child of God, 
a Christian, is found, and the Church of God, Christianity, 
arises. 



THE BIBLE AND THE CHRISTIAN. 29 

85 Is belief in the Scriptures necessary to faith in Christ ? 

Yes ; we cannot disbelieve or doubt the record without at 
the same time letting go our hold of Him to Whom it bears 
testimony. If we throw down a table, all that is on the top 
falls at the same moment. If the Scriptures go, Christ must 
go also. 

86. What is the difference between the strongholds of Unbelief 
and Faith f 

That of unbelief is simple dogma — a thing, strange to say, 
which is the object of its severe aversion in others — and that 
dogma is, that miracles are an impossibility and are not to be 
credited, no matter by what amount of evidence supported ; 
while the stronghold of Faith is in Facts — indisputable Facts. 
Christianity rests on the bed-rock of " frozen facts." 

87. Is not Christianity independent of the Bible ? 

No ; when the vase is broken, the life-giving water is spilled 
and lost. When the torch of Scripture lighted by Jesus 
Christ burns low or becomes extinguished, darkness covers 
the earth. Then truth goes, life goes, order goes, peace goes, 
the liberty of the churches of Christ goes, Christianity goes, 
everything goes, because the authority of the Bible, by which 
alone the world is anchored to God, has gone ! History and 
experience prove this. 

88. Do not the Holy Spirit and the Sacred Scriptures act 
independently of, and mutually exclude, each other f 

By no means ; they are co-operative and necessary, the one 
to the other. The Scriptures discover to us the Spirit ; and 
the Holy Spirit gives us faith in the Scriptures, through 
which we are sanctified. The Scriptures and the Spirit ! 
Both. Not the Scriptures or the Spirit, which ? What God 
hath joined together let not man put asunder. 

89. What is the character of the faith thus produced in the 
Word of God? 

It is not a faith simply historic ; nor a faith purely philo- 
sophic ; but a Divine faith, fides Divina, — a faith which carries 
with it certainty — an innate stability — a faith elevated and 
immovable as God, the Author of it. 



30 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

90. Cannot this faith In the Scriptures he 2^^'odLiced by philos- 
ophy, logic, or human argamentation ? 

No ; not i\iejides Divina. This were to make Christiauity a 
matter of science — a dead intellect ualism ; instead of being 
what it really is, a fact — a verity — a life — an experience. Such 
a faith would be the very opposite of the apostolic, and ** stand 
in tlie wisdom of men," and not "in the power of God." It 
were but a human faith ; and human faith cannot save. 

91 . Can the Christian ever dispense with the use of the Bible ? 

No ; the Bible is not a book for beginners in Christ's school 
only, but also for tliose of every degree of advancement therein. 
It is not only of use to make a Christian by conversion, but, 
contributing to his edification, to make him perfect also. Neg- 
lect of the Bible leads to leanness of soul. For this cause many 
Christians are weak and sickly, and many sleep. 

92. How should the Bible be read by the Christian f 

With daily regularity ; not merely as a duty, but as a vital 
nccessitj", as the food of the soul ; not through curiosity or for 
controversial purposes, but for personal profit ; as a letter from 
our Heavenly Father ; with a con.sciousness and constant re- 
membrance of our great need for it ; with reverent docility, as 
tlie Book of God ; with prayerful meditation and appropriating 
faith. 

93. How alone can the hidden treasure in the Scripture field 
he discovered by the soul ? 

By diligent study in the light of God's Spirit, and with 
inward experience. The Scriptures must be searched. The 
field must be ploughed, raked, digged. In God's light alone — 
the light of the Scriptures and the illumination of the Holy 
Spirit, their Divine Author — can we see light. 

94. What is an essential condition of the highest advancement 
in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures ? 

Practice ! Practice ! Practice ! according to the saying of 
the Lord Jesus, " If any man will do His will, he sluiU Know 
of the doctrine." Thus and thus only can one become truly 
learned and mighty in the Scriptures. 



THE BIBLE AND OUR COUNTRY. 31 

THE BIBLE AND OUR COUNTRY. 

95. Is the Bible the friend of man? 

Yes ; its history is the history of civilization and happiness. 
It is tlie foe of all injustice and oppression ; the champion of 
the rights of both man and beast ; tlie companion of liberty in 
all her conflicts — tlie cradle of its infancy and the Divine 
source of its claims. And this is true, notAvithstanding the 
fact that its teachings have at times been perverted, and made 
to be an engine of human slavery and ecclesiastical tyranny. 

96. Is the Bible the friend of civil governments f 

Yes ; it teaches us that civil authority is an ordinance of 
God, enjoins obedience to the powers that be, and directs all 
men, as good citizens, to render unto Csesar the things that are 
C£esar's, as well as unto God the things that are God's. 

97. What relation does the Bible sustain to the welfare of our 
country f 

A relation the most close and vital. The principles of re- 
ligion and morality which the Bible inculcates, constitute the 
basis of true manhood and the best citizenship. 

98. Are the United States a Christian nation 9 

The State, as such, has no religion, and, so far as its Consti- 
tution goes, it is Godless, the name of God not appearing in 
that instrument; so that the Nation religiously is just what 
the people make it. At present, however, it can be truthfully 
said, that it is neither Pagan, Mohammedan, nor Jewish, but 
Christian : The Christian's Bible is made the corner-stone of 
its liberties, being recognized as such in all our courts of jus- 
tice and legislative bodies ; the God of the Bible being recog- 
nized in taking the oath of office on the part of the President, 
the Judiciary, and all other officers of State ; and the God of 
the Bible being the God Who is called upon to witness to the 
truth of the oath or affirmation that is made. 

99. Can the State afford to be indifferent to the teaching of the 
Bible f 

No ; though it is not a part of the State's duty, constituted as 
our institutions are, to teach religion ; yet were this not done 



32 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

independently of the State, it would be compelled either to do 
it itself, or go to pieces. No nation has ever existed long, or 
come to much, without a religion ; and the United States, great 
as the nation is in other respects, would prove no exception to 
the rule. 

100. What is the attitude of the State and the Church toward 

each other f 

Though the functions of each are separate and distinct, yet 
both working for the same end— the welfare of the State — so 
far as temporal matters are concerned, their attitude toward 
each other is one of entire friendliness and co-operation, the 
State extending the aegis of its protection to all its citizens, 
guaranteeing them the fullest liberty in the exercise of the 
religion of their choice ; while the Church is supposed to 
teach no doctrine, nor inculcate any principle, at variance 
with loyalty— the patriotic devotion of the citizen to the 
state. 

101. Is the Bible a sectarian Book ? 

In itself it certainly is not, but, on the contrary, it is of all 
books the most catholic in its spirit and scope. The God it 
proclaims is the Father and Sovereign of all ; the Saviour it 
makes known the Redeemer of all mankind ; the characters it 
presents for imitation are the loftiest conceivable ; and the 
morals it inculcates the most pure and sublime that can pos- 
sibly' be imagined. 

102. How is the Bible regarded by our Roman Catholic fellow- 
citizens f 

With the strongest possible hostility as a sectarian book not 
only, but as a most pestilential agent also, the breeder of such 
deadly errors as the right of Private judgment ! Individual 
accountability to God ! Access to God through Jesus Christ 
alone ! and Salvation by Faith without ecclesiastical intermed- 
dling! — all of which, dear to every Protestant, are held by the 
Romish Church in the greatest abhorrence and deepest detesta- 
tion ; and, therefore, the Book which teaches these doctrines is 
by it hated, dreaded, proscribed, a thing whose very touch is 
pollution. 



THE BIBLE AND OUR COUNTRY. 33 

103. A7'e there others of our fellow-citizens besides the Roman 
Catholics, who maintain toward the Bible a hostile attitude, as a 
Book to be dethroned and its teachings suppressed f 

Yes ; infidels of all shades of belief (?) — Nihilists, Anarchists, 
Socialists, all of whom may be included under the comprehen- 
sive title of Secularists, regarding the Bible and its teachings 
as the great hiuderance to the progress of humanity, and as 
imposing a yoke upon their consciences and restraints upon 
their liberties, they are unable to bear and unwilling to endure, 
arrogating to themselves the attribute of human infallibility, 
and desiring to dethrone God Himself from the conscience, 
demand that the public reading of the Bible in State institu- 
tions, as a supreme authority in morals and religion, be for- 
bidden by law. 

104. How do the Courts look upon the Bible f 

It is only within a short time that the matter has been 
brought up for decision, but recently the Supreme Court of 
Wisconsin — owing, doubtless, to the bitter war made upon it 
from the Papal Infallibility party, on the one hand, and the 
Human Infallibility party on the other, Ecclesiasticism joining 
hands with Infidelity against the Supremacy of the Written 
Word of God — has given its opinion that the Bible is a sec- 
tarian Book within the meaning of the Constitution, and must 
not therefore be used in any way within the limits of the public 
schools of that State. 

105. Can the friends of the Bible hope successfully to impugn 
this judicial deliverance f 

However much the banishment of the Bible from State in- 
stitutions, as a book of instruction, is to be deplored, and, how- 
ever unwarranted from a true patriotic, not to say Christian, 
point of view, is the war waged against it, yet, the genius of 
our institutions being what it is, it is difficult to see how the 
Wisconsin position can be successfully assailed. 

106. What, then, is the duty of the friends of the Bible, as 
Americans, in the prem,ises 9 

To enthrone the Bible in heart and life, so as by the practical 
illustration of its doctrines and precepts to break down existing 
prejudice against it, and to doul)le their diligence, through the 

3 



34 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

channels open to them, to diffuse the Book and impart its 
teachings. This will prove a much more potent method of 
securing tlie end in view, than mere legal enactment ; espe- 
cially, since laws do not enforce themselves. 

ANTIQUITY AND WRITERS OF THE BIBLE. 

107. How does the Bible compare with other books in jjoint of 
antiquity ? 

The Bible contains the oldest literary compositions in the 
world, tlie Book of Job being the most ancient written poem, 
and tlie Book of Genesis, wliicli contains all we know of the 
existence of our race for at least 2000 j'ears prior to the begin- 
ning of ancient profane history, being penned long before any 
Grecian writer collected and recorded the deeds of ancient 
times.. The earliest portions of the Book were written nearly 
3500 years ago, and its latest parts nearly 2000 3'ears ago. Gen- 
esis and Job were written nearly 1000 years earlier than any 
other history we have. 

108. What is the number and cJiaracter of the writers of the 
Bible f 

The Bible, as a whole, is the work of at least 40 different au- 
thors of every degree of cultivation, and of different orders — 
priests, as Ezra ; poets, as Solomon ; prophets, as Isaiah ; war- 
riors, as David ; herdsmen, as Amos ; statesmen, as Daniel ; 
scholars, as Moses and Paul ; a tax-collector, as INIatthew ; a 
physician, as Luke ; fishermeii, unlearned and ignorant, as 
Peter and John. 

109. When was the Bible written ? 

It was commenced not later than in the year of the world 
2^300, and was completed in the year of the world 4100. In 
other words, it was begun not later than 1500 years before 
Christ, and was brought to a close about Anno Domini 100 — 
the period during which this Temple of Truth was constructed 
or built — being about 1600 years. 

110. Where was the Bible written f 

Its various books were written in widely different places : in 
the centre of Asia ; on the sands of Arabia ; in the deserts of 



THE CHAPTERS AND VERSES OF THE BIBLE. 35 

Judea ; in the porches of the Temple ; in the schools of the 
prophets — the theological seminaries — of Bethel and Jericho ; 
in the j)alaces of Babylon ; on the idolatrous banks of Chebar ; 
and in the midst of the Western civilization. 

111. How do the various writers differ as to the character and 
pur20ose of their compositions f 

Some of the writers, as Moses, frame laws ; others sketch 
nistory, as Joshua ; some compose psalms, as David ; or prov- 
erbs, as Solomon — the one a guide to our intercourse with 
God, the other to our intercourse with men. Isaiah writes 
prophecies ; the Evangelists, biographj^ ; and the Apostles, 
letters. The literature of the Bible is thus of the most varied 
character, being now history, now song, now arguments or 
dialogue, now biography, or prophecy, or letters. 

112. Under how many general heads may the matter in the 
Bible be grouped f 

Eight : namely, apocalyptic, historic, biographic, prophetic, 
devotional, moral or preceptive, doctrinal, and practical. 

113. What is the one great jjiupose of God which pervades all 
these lyctrts, and reigns supreme throughout the Bible f 

To make men " wise unto salvation," and to make " the man 
of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" 
(2 Tim. iii. 15-17 ; Rom. xv. 4). 

THE CHAPTERS AND VERSES OF THE BIBLE. 

114. Is the division of our Bible into chai^ters and verses of 
Divine origin f 

No ; neither the order nor arrangement of the different books, 
nor their division into chapters and verses, are of inspired 
authority, and are but of comparativelj'^ recent date. 

115. When and by ivhom ivere these divisions m,ade? 

The division into chapters was made by one Cardinal Hugo, 
or, as others suppose, bj'- Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, 
in the 13th century. The division of the Old Testament into 
verses was made by Atliias in the 17th century, and of the 



36 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

New by Robert Stephens about the niiddle of the 16th cen- 
tury, during a journey on horseback from Paris to Lyons. 

116. What is the character of these divisions f 

Very imperfect, oftentimes breaking tlie sense and obscuring 
the meaning of Scripture. No writing suffers so mucli from 
tlie manner in wliicli it is placed on tlie printed page as tliat 
contained in the Bible. Stephens's hurried versification ought, 
by all means, to be revised. 

117. How in this respect does the Authorized differ from the 
Revised Version of the Bible ? 

In the latter the paragraph division takes the place of the 
chapters in the former, while the division into verses is entirely 
ignored. 

118. Is this an improvement or a disadvantage? 

The paragraph division of the Revised Version is a decided 
improvement over the chapters of the old Bible ; but the omis- 
sion of subdivision into verses, for various reasons, is a blemish 
and a serious disadvantage. Were the matter of the Sacred 
Scriptures spread out u})()n the page in the open and attrac- 
tive style of the novel of the period, especially in its historical 
and interlocutory parts, the Bible would be a much more 
widely read, as well as a much better understood, book than 
it now is. 

LANGUAGES AND VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE. 

119. In what languages were the Scriptures originally written f 

The Old Testament was for tlie most part written in Hebrew, 
the language of the Jews to v/hom it was given and committed 
(small portions only being composed in Chaldee), and the New 
Testament in Greek, the dominant language of the world at 
the beginning of the Christian era. 

120. What are the earliest ancient translations or versions of 
the Bible ? 

The Septuagint (the Lxx.) version of the Old Testament, 
translated from the original Hebrew into Greek some three 
hundred years before Christ, and the Peshito (literal or faith- 



LANGUAGES AND VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE. 37 

ful) version of the New Testament, translated from the origi- 
nal Greek into the Syriae. Tlie Peshito contains besides nearly 
all the canonical books of the New Testament, also all the 
canonical books of the Old Testament. This translation was 
made early in the Christian era. 

121. When and by whom was the first complete translation of 
the Bible into English f 

By Wycliffe, toward the close of the 14th century (1380), 
before the invention of printing, and consequently existed 
only in manuscript form till 1731-1848, when the whole ap- 
peared in print. 

122. Before WiGkUff''s translation, in what language was the 
Bible, and what was its cost ? 

Copies of the Bible were inostly in Latin, an unknown 
tongue to all but the learned, and the cost of one was as much 
as a laboring-man's price of work for 15 years, and equal to 
11400 of our money — about the price recently paid for the Gut- 
tenberg Bible. 

123. When did the first printed edition of the Bible in English 
appear, and by whom was it published? 

It was published by Tyndale— the New Testament in 1526, 
and the Old Testament, in part, in 1532. The first edition was 
bought up and burned hy Tonstall, Bishop of London, and 
Sir Thomas More. 

124. Where was the Bible prior to the time of printing? 

Chained in the churches and to the shelves and reading- 
desks of the libraries of Europe, and in the possession of such 
wealthy persons as were able, and desired to purchase written 
copies. 

125. What are the names of the prominent subsequent editions 
of the English Bible ? 

Coverdale's Bible ; Matthew's Bible ; Taverner's Bible ; the 
Great Bible ; the Geneva Bible ; Parker's, or the Bishop's 
Bible ; the Rhemish New Testament, and the Douay Old Testa- 
ment, which forms the English Bible of the Roman Catholics, 
called the Douay Bible ; and King James's Bible, M^hich is the 



38 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

translation of the Holy Scriptures now in common use, known 
as the Authorized Version ; and the recent Revised Version. 

126. What are the names of some editions of the English Bibles 
rendered '•'■ curious''' by errors or incidents of publication ? 

*'The Guttenberg Bible ;" " the Bug Bible ;" " the Breeches 
Bible ;" *' the Place-Maker's Bible ;" *' the Treacle Bible ;" " ihQ 
Rosin Bible ;" " the He and She Bibles ;" " the Wicked Bible ;" 
"the Thumb Bible;" "the Vinegar Bible;" "the Printer's 
Bible;" "the Murderer's Bible;" and "the Caxton Memorial 
Bible," which was wholly printed and bound in 12 hours, but 
only 100 copies struck ofT, a.d. 1877. 

127. What is the character of oar Authorized Version or com- 
mon English Bible f 

Competent authorities have again and again pronounced it 
"the best of any translation in the world," being, upon the 
whole, a faithful and accurate reflex of the original text and 
the niind of the Spirit. 

128. When and by whom was our Authorized Version of the 
Bible made f 

It was begun in the si)ring of 1007 by 54 men of learning and 
pietv appointed by King James I. of England, and brought 
to its completion by 47 of these, seven from illness and other 
causes having relinquished their task, in four years, in 1611. 
It is hence called King James's Bible. 

120. What. is the historical relation of the Bible and printing ? 

The earliest known book printed on movable types, was the 
Latin Bible issued by Guttenberg at Mentz, a. d. 1450, and 
known as the Guttenberg BiVjle. This Bible was recently sold 
in New York, and bought by a resident of Chicago, the price 
paid being some $1500. 

THE TWO LATEST VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE. 

130. What led to the recent Revision of our English and Au- 
thorized Version of 1611 ? 

This translation, which had stood without a peer for 270 
years, though of unquestioned excellence, contains, it is ad- 



THE TWO LATEST VERSIONS OP THE BIBLE. 39 

niitted on all hands, some mistakes, though none of radical or 
vital importance as affecting the doctrines of Scripture, yet 
such as give rise to misunderstanding and unfriendly criti- 
cism ; for this and other reasons, in the judgment of pious and 
scholarly men, it was deemed desirable that a revision of the 
authorized version of the Holy Scriptures be undertaken. 

131. What is the history of the Revised Version f 

It had its origin in the convocation of Canterbury, May 6, 
1870, by the appointment of a committee of eminent scholars 
and dignitaries of the Church of England with power to revise, 
and to associate with them representative Biblical scholars of 
other denominations using King James's version. Accordingly 
two committees, the American (as advisory only) composed of 
an Old Testament company of 14, and a New Testament com- 
pany of 13, and the English, composed of an Old Testament 
company of 27, and a New Testament company of 25, began 
work in 1870, and after ten and a half years of unremitting toil 
the revision of the New Testament was completed and pub- 
lished in 1880, and that of the Old Testament in 1885. 

132. Hoiu was the Revised Version received f 

Its publication was awaited with intense interest, and im- 
mense editions both in this country and in Europe were speed- 
ily absorbed by eager millions. The interest and excitement 
attending the appearance of the Old Testament, however, were 
nauch less than in the case of the New. 

133. What is the popular verdict respecting the New Ver- 
sion 9 

Upon its appearance it was praised and it was blamed, extolled 
and condemned ; and now, after ten years, all popular interest 
in it has died out, the Old Version still holds its place in the 
affections of the people ; the Revised Version being used, as a 
rule, by scholars and the more diligent students of the Bible 
only. Upon the whole, the Revision is a disappointment, and, 
so far as popular use is concerned, is a pronounced failure. 

134. iTo what is this failure due f 

Chiefly to two causes — mechanical and literary. 



40 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

135. What are Us mechanical defects f 

Its too compact form on the printed page is unpleasant to the 
eye, and renders it difficult to read ; while the absence of num- 
bers to its paragraphs, and of all subdivisions, as a substitute 
for the greatly needed, but objectionable, chapters and verses of 
the Old Version, render easy and ready reference to any partic- 
ular passage impossible. In this form it may do for scholars 
and the closet or the studj", but not for the many public, popu- 
lar, and practical uses to which the Bible is put. 

136. What are its alleged litei^ary defects ? 

In a word, its slavish literalism, and its poor English. The 
features of the original are too plainly visible through the veil 
of the version. The peculiarities of the Greek and Hebrew 
languages are preserved, while their equivalents in idiomatic 
English should have been given. 

137. What, then, is the value of the Revised Version f 

It is of the highest value and the first importance. It con- 
tains the results of the best modern scholarship, is much more 
true to the original text than the Old Version, and is, in fact, 
a most excellent commentary upon that Version ; and had it 
not been for these before-mentioned defects, the New Version 
would undoubtedly have superseded the Old in popular affec- 
tion and use. 

138. Is, then, a further revision of the Holy Scriptures needed f 

It would so seem ; and it is believed that such an edition of 
the Bible, combining the many excellencies of the Revised 
Version with the sturdy Anglo-Saxon of the Old, and without 
the defects of either, being thus well-nigh a perfect work, would 
speedily supplant all others in popular favor. 

139. What is the proportion of new words in the Revised Ver- 
sion as compared with the number which constitute the Old ? 

The New Testament contains 179,914 words, 154,526 of which 
are retained, so that about 86 per cent, of tlie Revised Version 
is Old Version. This leaves but 25,000 words which are new 
to the Revision. About the same proportion obtains in the 
Old Testament. 



CIRCULATION OF THE BIBLE. 41 

CIRCULATION OF THE BIBLE. 

140. What are the chief special agencies for diffusing the 
Bible over the world f 

These are two — the British and Foreign Bible Society, estab- 
lished in London in 1804, and the American Bible Society, 
established in New York in the year 1816. 

141. What incident gave rise to the formation of the British 
and Foreign Bible Society f 

The Rev. Tliomas Charles, of Bala, in Wales, meeting a little 
girl in one of the streets of the town, asked her whether she 
could repeat the text from which he had preached on the pre- 
ceding Sunday. Instead of giving a prompt reply, as she had 
been accustomed to do, she remained silent, and then, weeping, 
told him that the weather had been so bad she could not get to 
read the Bible ! She had been accustomed to travel every week 
seven miles over the hills to a place where she could find access 
to a Welsh Bible. And this incident led to that movement 
which has done so much to bring the Bible not onlj^ within the 
easy reach of all, but to put a complete copy of the Holy Scrip- 
tures in the hands of all who desire it. 

142. What is the result of the past eighty-six years^ work of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society ?■ 

It has extended its operations to almost every country in the 
world, has put into circulation about 140,000,000 copies of the 
Scriptures in whole or in part, in above 260 languages and dia- 
lects, and has expended 150,000,000 in doing the work. Its 
annual issue of the Holy Scriptures is some 3,000,000 copies. 

143. Hoiv do the operations of the American Bible Society com- 
pare with those of its British co-worker 9 

Very favorably. During the last year, the 74th of its his- 
tory, it issued nearly 1,500,000 copies of the Holy Scriptures in 
whole or in part, its total issues up to the present being 
53,000,000 cojDies, nearly. Its annual expenditures are over 
$500,000 ; and it publishes the Scriptures in about 220 languages 
and dialects, extending its operations to nearly every quarter 
of the globe. Its total expenditures in this work during the 
period of its existence aggregate almost 125,000,000. 



42 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

144. Since the establishment of the British and Foreign Bible 
Society in 1804, how inany copies or parts of the Holy Scriptures 
have been circulated through the agency of Bible Societies — 
the parent Societies and their numerous auxiliaries f 

About 200,000,000 copies have been distributed in all parts 
of the world during a period of 86 years. At the beginning of 
the century, it is estimated that four millions of copies could not 
have been found in all the world. So mightily has the Word 
grown and prevailed. 

145. What discovery have the agents of the American Bible 
Society made rejecting Bible destitution in the United States f 

The auxiliaries found about one family in ten without a 
Bible in their homes ; while the colporteurs of the parent 
society' found an average destitution of about one family in six, 

146. To what causes does the Bible Society attribute this Bible 
destitution in the United States f 

Prejudice, indifference, and illiteracy, the latter in some sec- 
tions prevailing to an alarming extent, multitudes being 
found who are unable to read, or write. It is estimated that 
eight per cent, of the white population in America can neither 
read nor write. 

147. What has been, and now is, the motto of the American 
Bible Society touching the people of this country f 

"A Bible in every home" was the key-note of the past ; "a 
Bible for every child in tbe Sunday Schools who can read," 
the motto for the future. 

148. What is the answer to the infidel sneer that the Bible is a 
neglected Book, and that it has ceased to be a final authority in 
religion ? 

No other book, apart from these special agencies for the dif- 
fusion of the Bible, has such a steady and constant sale through- 
out Christendom as this. None has such a uniform stream of 
writings from the press for its exposition or illustration. None 
circulate so widely in all circles of societ3^ The Bible is more 
highly prized to-day than ever before. 



THE BIBLE AND ITS USE. 43 



THE BIBLE AND ITS USE. 

149. Is the Bible a generally read book f 

No ; the most numerous, the Bible is, upon the whole, the 
most neglected Book in the world. Multitudes do not read it 
at all ; many of its friends give it no systematic perusal ; while 
the number is still fewer who can, in any proper sense, be 
called Students of the Word. 

150. How may this neglect of the Bible be accounted for f 

While other causes contribute to this slighting of the Word, 
a main reason is that, the Bible, being an antique and homely 
book — indeed, a collection of books — its structure is not readily 
understood by the unlearned, nor its impressive and beautiful 
passages, or the wonderful things in which it abounds, easily 
discovered. The masses of the people have not found out, as 
yet, that the Bible is not only an instructive book, but an 
attractive one ; that it is not only true, but enticing. 

151. Is the Bible luell understood by its readers and friends f 

No ; not generally, and not as a Book. The piecemeal and 
spasmodic manner in which it is commonly read, prevents any 
proper understanding of the Book as a whole, or of the par- 
ticular pieces of which it is composed. The main contents of 
the Book, its collective glories, are entirely missed by the mere 
chapter and random reader and text-learner. No one can 
understand a part that does not understand the whole. This 
Comprehensive Study of the Bible is greatly needed at the 
present time. 

152. Is the plan of reading the Bible through in a year the 
most profitable way of using the Book f 

No ; it is a good deal better to spend a whole year on a single 
book than to read the whole Bible through in a year. One 
book, one chapter or verse, thoroughly mastered, so that it 
lodges a new thought in the mind, a new joy in the heart, a 
new purpose in the life, is worth a hundred cliapters read 
thoughtlessly, hastil}^ and in a perfunctory manner, without 
leaving an impression behind. 



44 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

153. What are the three rules the Bible itself prescribes for its 
successful study f 

Search the Scriptures (Jiio. v. 39) ; meditate on the Scriptures 
(Ps. i. 2) ; compare Scripture with Scripture (1 Cor. ii. 13). 

154. Should passages of Scripture be cominitted to memory? 

By all meaus. Botli for the needs of every-day life, and 
for the purpose of comfort and consolation in times of trial 
and when sickness and death come, the word should be stored 
up in the memory and hid away in the heart. 

155. How can very busy people acquire an intimate acquaint- 
ance luith the Bible f 

By maintaining as a sacred reserve a few minutes of each 
day, or even each week, for this purpose. If only so much as 
ten minutes a day, or an hour a week, be given to this work, 
witli the aid of the Temple Opened, in a year the student 
will be alike surprised and delighted with the results. 

156. Why should the professing Christian especially be a 
regular and systematic student of the Bible ? 

On its own account, as the Word of God; on his and her 
own account, as the means of their personal safety and edifica- 
tion ; on account of others, that they may be qualified to guide 
them in the way. Besides, there is no end to tlie delights and 
discoveries which await the exploring of the prayerful student. 

157. In what spirit should the Bible be studied ? 

In the spirit of teachableness or docility, with a profound 
conviction that the Bible is the Word of God ; that every part 
of it in some way or other bears testimony to Christ ; Avith the 
full persuasion that we have to do personally with all it contains ; 
and with a deep sense of our entire dependence for light and 
guidance on the Holy Spirit. 

158. Is the mere knowledge of the Bible all that is to be desired 
and sought after f 

No ; an intellectual apprehension of the Scriptures which 
leaves the affections untouched and the life unsanctified, will 
prove a powerless thing when we are called to witness for our 
absent Master, in daily conflict with the World, the Flesh, and 



THE BIBLE AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 45 

the Devil. The Bible Loved, and the Bible Lived, will be the 
only true sequel to the Bible Studied. The Tree of Knowledge 
must become also the Tree of Life. 

THE BIBLE AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

159. What is the Sunday School actual ? 

The place where the juvenile part of the community congre- 
gates for an hour on the Lord's Day; where there is generally 
very much noise, a great deal of confusion, a good deal of sing- 
ing, oftentimes an Intolerable amount of talking, not much 
devotion, and a modicum of religious instruction. 

160. What OUGHT the Sunday School to be f 

The great educational institution, the general Biblical Semi- 
nary, of the Christian Church ; the place where the Bible is 
taught and where the Bible is learned, not by the juvenile por- 
tion of the religious community only, but by the entire popula- 
tion, as far as possible, of the Christian Commonwealth. The 
Sunday School ought to be, in name and in fact, the Bible 
School of the Church, and not simply a kind of religious 
kindergarten for children. 

161. What is the supreme purpose of this institution ? 

Its final end and ultimate aim is the formation of Christian 
character ; but its immediate object, as the necessary means to 
that end, is, or ought to be, the study of the Bible, the Word 
of God, which, besides other important matters, contains a 
transcript and summary of human duties, a manual on charac- 
ter, a. proclamation of grace, and a Way of Life and Holiness. 

162. What is a matter of prime importance looking to the 
attainment of the immediate object of the Sunday School? 

A Bible as the personal property, .and in the hands of each 
superintendent, teacher, and scholar in the School, outside of 
the Primary Department. The evils attending the banishment 
of the Bible as a book, in so many cases, from the School, and 
the substitution therefor of the Lesson Leaf, the Quarterly, 
and somebody's Notes, can hardly be overestimated. It is 
little short of a crime against the Youth, the Church, the Book 
itself, and its Divine Author. 



46 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



163. Is thepremnt International Lesson Series the best method 
of attaining the object of the Sundaij School ? 

It may not be the best possible, but it is doubtless the best 
that has as yet been devised. With its conceded advantages, 
however, it has very serious defects— defects which could, and 
certainly ought to, be remedied. 

164. What are the radical defects of the International Series? 

There are two : (1) Providing but one lesson for all classes of 
scholars and grades of mind, thereby violating that well estab- 
lished principle of education which requires the course of in- 
struction to be adapted to the various stages of mental develop- 
ment ; and (2j Saeriticing utility to sentiment in the desire to 
go through the Bible in a given period— seven years— it has to 
go in a hop-skip-and-jump fashion through the Book, and at so 
rapid a pace that, while there is no undue time or thought 
given to the detached portions or selected paragraphs, there is 
little, if any, attention paid to the Book as a whole, or to the 
individual books or parts of which it is composed, and nothing 
hke a thorough acquaintance even with the parts gone over 
is attained. In reality, in the opinion of those with the very 
best opportunities of knowing whereof they affirm, under the 
present rdgime, the Sunday School, as an educational institu- 
tion, is pretty much a failure, and that so far as anything that 
can with propriety be called Biblical instruction is concerned, 
the youth of to-day, in a large majority of instances, are grow- 
iug up in lamentable ignorance of the Sacred Book. 

165. Hoiu might these defects be at least partially remedied f 

Presuming the present course to remain unchanged, and that 
it is adapted to the Intermediate Department as well as any- 
thing that can be procured, there is still no provision for the 
Avork at either extreme— the Primary Department and the 
Adult or Bible Classes, as they are called. To meet this defect, 
a suitable Biblical Catechism— not an abstract doctrinal cate- 
chism, such as it is now largely in vain sought to teach the 
children— should be prepared for the Primary Department, by 
means of which, during the years the children are in that 
grade, they may become well acquainted with the main facts 
about the Bible, and the leading characters and many of the 
most important things of the Bible, and so, in their time, be 



THE BIBLE AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 47 

prepared by their kuowledge as well as years for their transfer 
to the "big room;" while for the Adult Classes, carr34ng up 
with them, the kuowledge obtained in the lower departments, 
provision should be made for the study of the Bible as a Book, 
and the individual parts of which it is composed. In this way 
the adults could be retained in the School, and the supply of 
competent teachers be easily furnished. 

166. What is a serious abuse of the present International Les- 
son Series on the part of Teachers? 

The substitution of the Helps for the study of the Bible 
itself. No second-hand acquaintance with the Book of God 
can ever take the place of direct contact with, and diligent 
study of, the Bible itself. There is no intellectual or spiritual 
fertilizer to be compared with a prayerful study of the Word in 
the relations in which the Holy Spirit has been pleased to 
put it in the Sacred Volume. 

167. Can anything be done to overcome the defects of the Inter- 
national Series^ presuming it, as is likely , to continue as it is ? 

Yes; by means of Supplemental Lessons conducted from the 
desk by the Pastor in all cases where it is possible, or, in lieu of 
the Pastor, the Superintendent. Ten minutes a day in special 
drill, faithfully persisted in, will, in a year even, produce sur- 
prisingly great results, and revolutionize the character of the 
School. For such a drill abundant materials may be found, all 
ready to hand, in almost any part of the Temple Opened, but 
especially in the Appendix. 

168. Wliat should be the motto for these supplemental drills ? 

Repetition and Addition, Repetition and Addition — leaving 
nothing until it is firmly fixed in the mind of the scholars. 
What is only half known, is not known at all. 

169. To what S2:>ecial account may the knowledge so gained 
by the school be turned f 

To add interest and profit to the Anniversary Exercises — 
which are all too often more interesting than profitable. A 
review of such parts and amounts of the stores laid up during 
the year as is deemed advisable, will serve to give dignity to 
these occasions, and, by showing to ihe parents and friends the 



48 THE TE3IPLE OPENED. 

attainments made b^^ the scholars, will also stimulate their 
interest in the school itself, and awaken a desire in their own 
breasts for a greater familiarity with the Sacred Volume. 

THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 

170. How is the Bible distinguished from every other book f 
Generally, in these four respects : (1) By the majesty of its 

subject, (2) the symmetry of its structure, (3) the harmony of 
its parts, and (4) the slow march of its growth. 

171. What do these distinctive characteristics suggest as to the 
origin and authorshij) of the Bible ? 

That it is not an ordinary human composition, but that its 
origin is supernatural, and its authorship Divine ; in other 
words, that it is inspired of God, Theojjneustic, as Paul says— 
God- breathed. 

172. What two agents unite in the ivoduction of this inspired 
volume— the Bible f 

The Divine and the human. ''Holy men of old spake"— 
that is the human; "as they were moved by the Holy 
Spirit"— there is the Divine (2 Pet. i. 21). 

173. What special proof s of its inspiration may be assigned? 

(1) The claims of the Book itself ; (2) the character of its con- 
tents ; (3) the confidence of believers that it is from God ; (4) 
its distinctness from all other books ; (5) the inexhaustibleness 
of its interest ; (6) the permanence of its value ; (7) its moral 
and spiritual unity ; (8) its scientific incorrectness, or its use of 
the language of common life to describe physical phenomena ; 
(9) its influence on character and conduct ; and (10) the uniform 
testimony of the Church in all ages. 

174. What is the result of the blending of the Divine with the 
human agency in the 2yroduction of the Bible? 

A writing embodying the mind of God in the words of man 
—God's word in man's writing— every word of Scripture being 
alike God's word and man's word— the Divine and human au- 
thorship being at once joint and co-operative. 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 49 

175. Is the individuality of the sacred writers preserved in the 
inspired records f 

Yes ; in all cases ; the personality of the writer being an es- 
sential part of the conception, the expression, and the record 
of Divine truth. 

176. What is the phenomena as to the individuality of the 
sacred writers which the Bible presents f 

Now the uncultivated yet sublime simplicity of John ; now 
the moving, elliptical, stirring, and reasoning energy of Paul ; 
now the fervor and solemnity of Peter ; here it is the grand 
poetry of Isaiah, or the lyric poetry of David ; in one place it 
is the simple yet majestic recitals of Moses, in the other the 
sententious and royal wisdom of Solomon : it is Moses, David, 
Solomon, Isaiah ; it is Paul and Peter and John — all these, but 
it is also God ! It is God Who speaks, but is also man ; it is 
man, but also God ! 

177. What is the difference in the form of inspired teaching in 
heathen and Biblical records f 

In heathen nations the Sybl or the Pjthoness was the type 
of an inspired teacher, in whom all human powers of body and 
soul were neutralized ; while in the records of the Bible, the 
teaching of inspiration appears as one great element in the 
education of the world, and therefore it has an essential con- 
nection with the age and people to whom it is addressed, while 
its form varies according to the needs of men. 

178. Is there any resemblance between the Bible and the per- 
son of Christ ? 

Yes ; there is the most perfect blending of the Divine and the 
human in both. Both are the Word or Revelation of God, the 
One Incarnate and the other Written ! Both are Emmanuel — 
at the same time in the bosom of God, and in the heart of 
man ; celestial and earthly, sublime and humiliated, imposing 
and familiar, God and Man ! 

179. What is the honor due respectively to the Written and the 
Incarnate Word? 

As God manifest in the flesh we worship the One ; as the 
voice of God speaking to man we bow to the authority of the 
other, as the only infallible rule of faith and practice. 

4 



50 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

180. What are the three grand operations of the Holy Spirit 
in the composition and saving power of the Scriptures? 

Revelation, Inspiration, and Spiritual Illumination. 

181. How are these three operations distinguished or differen- 
tiated the one from the other f 

Revelation properly signifies the supernatural communica- 
tion to the inspired penman of the essential truths of religion, 
which were beyond the reach of human discovery ;— Inspira- 
tion signities that Divine influence which rendered the sacred 
writers infallible in communicating truth, whether previously 
known or not — whether supernaturally revealed, or scientific, 
historical, or other secular truth within the limits of their own 
knowledge ; — while it is the peculiar province of Spiritual Il- 
lumination to enable the believer to discern the beauty and 
excellency of Divine thiugs when revealed. 

182. What was the precise function of insjnred men ? 

Their office work was solely to utter by tongue or pen-, with- 
out error or defect, whatev^er the Holy Spirit moved them to 
utter — nothing more, nothing less, nothing other. In doing 
this one thing they were infallible, and in nothing outside 
thereof. 

183. Were aJl insjyircd men the subjects of all three of the 
oj^erations of the Holy Spirit? 

No; a few chosen men, as Moses, Isaiah, Paul, and John, 
were granted the three endowments in their fulness — abundant 
revelations, inspiration, and spiritual illumination ; others, as 
Mark and Luke, inspiration and spiritual discernment, but no 
revelations ; to all believers in their measure is given the grace 
of Spiritual Illumination ; while a few wicked men, as Balaam 
and Caiaphas, and King Saul, who was "also among the 
prophets," were inspired, but wanting in both the other gifts 
of the Holy Spirit. 

184. What is the relative proportion of Revelation to the secu- 
lar and other inspired matter in-the Bible ? 

This cannot be exactly determined or mathematically ex- 
pressed ; but a mere cursory examination will make it evident 
that absolute Revelation constitutes but a small part of the 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 51 

whole content of Holy Scripture. Revelation is but a frequent, 
while inspiration is the constant, phenomenon presented in the 
Written Word. All revelation is inspired, but all inspired 
matter is not revelation. 

185. Is the HoiiY Spirit accountahle for, and to be held as 
approving, the sentiments and the conduct of all the characters 
introduced into the sacred record ? 

By no means ; there is a wide distinction to be made between 
matter inbreathed or inspired by the Holy Spirit and the 
historicaJ^ recitals committed to writing by the sacred penman 
under His guidance. The Divine Author is no more responsi- 
ble for the " malignant insinuations of the three bigots in Job," 
or the profanity of Peter, or the lies of Abraham, or the crimes 
of David, or the sayings of Satan, than the historian is for the 
words and deeds of the actors in the drama he is bound faith- 
fully to report. It is not implied that Pilate was a saint because 
his name is written in the Bible, or mentioned in the Creed. 

186. What great theological doctrine does the phenomenon of 
inspiration illustrate f 

The absolute sovereignty of the Divine agency, and the per- 
fect freedoni of the human instrument. 

187. Ca^ the mode of the Divine operation in the inspiration 
of the Scriptures he described ? 

No ; no more than it can be in the other operations of the 
Holy Spirit, as the Incarnation and Regeneration, which are 
inscrutable, but about the fact of which there is no doubt or 
question. To seek out this mode is to g^o beyond the limits of 
reason and revelation itself, which is silent on the subject. 

188. What is the best theory as to the 7node of inspiration f 

No theory at all. Of the fact— the great fact of the full 
inspiration of the Scriptures— it is enough for the ordinary'- 
believer to be satisfied, leaving philosophers, rationalists, and 
theologians, to trouble themselves about the How. 

189. What is the extent of inspiration or the guidance of the 
Holy Spirit in the composition of the Scriptures f 

On this subject a great variety of views is held, varying from 
the plenary and verbal, which is the rigidly orthodox view. 



52 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



through the various subordinate or partial degrees of inspira- 
tion all the way to the rationalist opinion, which rejects the 
idea of inspiration entirely, and places the Scriptures on a 
level with the sacred books of the heathen— a Hebrew mythol- 
ogy quite of a piece with that of Greece and Rome— no more a 
supernatural revelation than the literary productions of Ma- 
homet ! 

190. What are the two cardinal j^oints touching inspiration on 
which Evaiigelical Frotestantimi is agreed f 

First : That the original cause and author of the Bible as a 
Book is not man, but God ; and, therefore, that all merely 
naturalistic conceptions of it— all handling of it as if it were a 
Jewish literature merely— all interpreting of it as if it were 
composed by men merely, is a crime against God as its Author. 
Secondly : Tliat this primal Divine agency was immediately 
concerned with the form, the language, and expression, as well 
as with the substance of the Book, viewed as a Revelation. 

191. What are some of the intermediate views as to the extent 
of inspiration ? 

Some confine inspiration to all that is directly religious, to 
all that is directly of the character of revelation, leaving out of 
the question all that belongs to the sphere of science or ordi- 
nary history. Others exempt literary form or dress of Scrip- 
ture, and attribute inspiration onl^^ to the "concept," the 
spiritual truths the Book reveals, and to the universal princi- 
ples it lays down. Others still go further, and comprise in the 
fallible form the mode of argument and expository details; 
while all these, differing in other respects, deny absolute infal- 
libility and inerrancy to the letter of the Scripture. 

192. What is the difference between the Higher Criticism and 
the orthodox, respecting the extent of inspiration f 

The former limits the operation of the Holy Spirit to the 
concept or spiritual truths, leaving the expression of the same, 
and all the historic and scientific details, to the unaided facul- 
ties of the inspired penmen ; while the latter claims that the 
agency of the Holy Spirit extends to the subject matter 
of the Written Word, to the arrangements of its contents, and 
also to the language in which it is clothed,— that is, to the 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 53 

'^ literary form" as well as to the " substance" of Holy Scripture 
— that is, that the Word of God is not only in the Scripture, 
but the Scripture is the Word of God. 

193. Is it possible to dissect inspiration into substance and form, 
concept and language ? 

No ; as well talk of a tune without notes, a stool without legs, 
or a sum in arithmetic without figures, as of thoughts being 
inspired, apart from the words which give them expression. 

194. Upo?i what ground do the orthodox base their claim for 
plenary or verbal inspiration f 

On the a p?'iori ground of necessity — of what, considering 
its Divine Autliorship, in their conception, the Bible ought to 
be — infallible, inerrant, errorless in all its parts and details. 

195. What is the contention of those who dissent from the or- 
thodox view of verbal insjjiration f 

That the question is not one to be settled according to any 
preconception, on any a j^riori grounds, by speculating as to 
what the Bible ought to be, but by the phenomena the Bible 
presents, what it actually is ; that is, that the Bible itself ought 
to be allowed to tell its own story, and give its own account of 
itself; and that when it is allowed so to do, it is discovered, as 
a matter of fact, that, as we have it, it is neither infallible, in- 
errant, nor errorless ; but, on the contrary, it contains differ- 
ences and even contradictions of detail, and makes statements 
that are scientifically and historically incorrect. 

196. Do these errors and discrepancies in the sacred record 
invalidate the authority of Holy Scripture f 

No ; they are all of them immaterial, " trivialities of no ac- 
count," found only in connection with the "circumstantials," 
questions largely of dates and names, and minor matters— 
which are of no consequence so far as the substantial veracity 
of Scripture is concerned ; but which, nevertheless, are held to 
be inconsistent with a theory of vcrbcd inspiration— human 
imperfections proving that the mere text or letter of Scripture 
is not infallible, and cannot therefore be regarded as the very 
Word of God. The Bible, however, it is conceded, is errorless 
for the great purposes for which God gave it. 



S-Jr THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

197. How do the ]pcL^^tiscins of this view of partial insjnration 

reconcile the Divine authoritij of Scripture with its errancy f 

That, judged by the very same microscopic critical tests 
which detect such errors, the Bible remains an entirely unique 
Book. Every Christian mind recognizes in it a higher Divine 
knowledge and authority than in aught else. It shines with a 
j)0wej' and lustre such as invest no other book. It bears its own 
witness to its Divinity. No theory of inspiration, it is held, can 
give to the Scripture any greater weight, or get any more out 
of it, than this. 

198. What explanation do the partisans of verbal inspiration 
give of such errors as are conceded to be in the Bible ? 

That they are due entirely to transcribers and copyists of the 
sacred text. They claim inspiration and consequent inerrancy 
only for the original writers and their autographs, for the text 
as it came from the hands of the inspired penmen, and not as 
it now is ; and that when the text shall have been restored to 
its original purity all errors will disappear. This theory, how- 
ever, the scientific (?) critics regard as sheer assumption, upon 
which no mind, the}' allege, can rest with certaint}'. 

199. What argument is urged bij the verbalists in demonstra- 
tion of the correctness of their theory ? 

A multitude of statements which have been paraded either 
as errors, or inaccuracies, or discrepancies, and once regarded 
as unanswerable, have given way before increasing knowledge ; 
whence it is argued that it is not unreasonable to assume that 
others, which cannot now be solved, may yet yield up the key 
to a better informed scholarship and a perfectly restored text. 

200. Is the Divinity and consequent sujyremacy of the Word of 
God bound up with any theory of insjnration ? 

No ; "all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the 
flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flowx>r thereof 
falleth away ; but the Word of the Lord endureth forever." 

201. Upon ivhat basis do the defenders of inspiration accept 
the doctrine ? 

Primarily on the authority of the properh^ authenticated 
Word of God ; but they have been led by the necessities of the 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 55 

case to treat the subject inductively, and on this basis have 
sliown that the facts of Divine revelation in the Bible can no 
more be explained without inspiration, than the facts of falling 
bodies in the universe can be explained without the theory of 
gravitation. The natural and the supernatural in Scripture 
are so interwoven in its very texture that they must stand or 
fall together. And what God has so joined together let not 
man put asunder. 

202. Should the insjnration of the Scriptures be insisted on in 
our controversy with unbelievers f 

No ; not primaril}^ We are not dependent on this doctrine 
for our defence of Holy Scripture against unbelievers. In 
apologetics it is best to proceed on the ground that the Scrip- 
ture record is as true and trustworthy as any other well ac- 
credited history ; and having thus established the facts of 
Christianity, we can then go on to prove the inspiration and 
consequent Divine Authority of the Scriptures. 

203. What advantage is the Bible deriving from modern liter- 
ary research and ai'chceological discoveries f 

Much every way. Every new unearthing of new documents 
but drives a new nail in the coffin of unbelief. Every new in- 
scription from the monuments of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and 
other Bible lands, is a fresh testimony to the absolute accuracy 
of the Scripture record. Each fresh discovery has been a new 
leaf to its laurel— a new gem to its coronet. Of the names of 
the four thousand persons and places it is estimated the Bible 
contains, w^hich are distributed through all the early ages and 
over the surface of the whole earth as known to the ancients, 
not one name is sliown to be a myth, or one old ruin mis- 
placed—out of all the 4000 ! And it is safe to say that there will 
not be. Witnesses are constantly springing out of the earth to 
the routing and utter discomfiture of the assailants of the accu- 
racy of the Sacred Record. 

204. WJiat renders the freedom from gross scientific error on 
the part of the sacred writers the 7nore rem^arkable f 

Moses was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, and yet he 
did not adopt in the Pentateuch Manetho's scheme of chronol- 
ogy, reaching back 30,000 years anterior to the Christian era; 



56 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Daniel was wise in Chaldean lore, yet he did not bind the 
authority of inspiration to the monstrous cosmogonies of the 
Babylonians ; Paul was educated in the best learning of his 
time, but in his Epistles we find nothing like Augustine's scorn- 
ful denial of the existence of the antipodes, or like the opinion 
of Ambrose, that the sun draws up water to cool and refresh 
himself in his extreme heat. In ^11 scientific matters the Apos- 
tles walk erect, while the early Christian writers blunder. 

205. What are the sources of the disputes between faith in the 
Bible as infallible and current sjjeculafion in natural science ? 

These are three: (1) mistakes in Biblical interpretation, (2) 
blunders in science, and (3) spiritual blindness. 

206. l7ito how many classes may these disputes be divided ? 

Three, and these three exhaust the subject: The first cm- 
braces all tliose points wherein the meaning of God's Word is 
clearly understood, and the opposing scientific theories are un- 
settled. Tlie second class embraces those disputes wherein the 
facts in nature are established, but the Word is not rightly 
understood. Under the third class should be arranged all those 
particulars wherein neither the Word nor the Works of God 
are fully and certainly known. 

207. What is an exam^ple under each of these classes ? 

Under the first, the descent of the human race from one com- 
mon pair and the opposing theories of unsettled science ; under 
the second, the Copernican system as apparently at war with 
the " rising and setting of the su^" of the Bible, which when 
understood, not scientifically, but phenomenally, as the lan- 
guage of conunon life, all dilficultj^ is at an end ; under the 
last class may be instanced the duration or length of the six 
creative days. As to the first and the last class of disputes, 
neither sceptic nor believer should dogmatize, but wait for more 
light. Both Books are God's, and there will be no want of 
harmony when the facts are certainly known. 

208. How do the earlier forms of rationalistic criticism, differ 
from the later ? 

The earlier rationalistic critics were deistic, admitting the 
existence of God, but denying that the Bible is a revelation 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE. 57 

from. Him ; while the later have been atheistic, denying even 
the existence of God, and attempting to explain all the phe- 
nomena of the Bible on purely naturalistic principles. 

209. How do these tiuo classes of criticism differ in their as- 
saults upon the Bible ? 

Deistic criticism, after the manner of Thomas Paine, de- 
lighted in finding and bringing forward the so-called "discre- 
pancies" and "absurdities" and "contradictions" of the Scrip- 
tures, in order thereby to show that the Bible was not from 
God and not infallible. The atheistic critics, while making 
the most of the pretended discoveries of their deistic predeces- 
sors, have used them mainly to emphasize their own postulate, 
that there is no supernatural. 

210. How can the commands of Jehovah to Moses and Saul 
for the extermination of the Canaanites and the Amalekites be 
reconciled with the doctrine of insjnration, the moral rectitude 
of God, and our ideas of justice and hum^anity 9 

On the ground of the absolute sovereignty of Jehovah and 
the total forfeiture of their right to life and the land they had 
polluted with their abominations. It was for cause the order 
for their extermination was given ; " the cup of their iniquity 
was full." The Great God cannot but do right. His judg- 
ments are true and righteous altogether. Let the nations of 
the earth tremble before Him. 

211. What is the ansiuer to those luho charge Moses with being 
a "■monster of iniquity'''' and a " savage for cruelty''^ f 

What Moses did he did as the servant of Jehovah. If there 
is anything wrong about his official acts, done in obedience 
to the Diviue command, it is, therefore, Jehovah, the Most 
High Himself, and not Moses, Who is responsible. 

212. How can those passages of Scripture ivhich are offensive 
to the pure moral sense be reconciled iv'ith plenary inspiration 
and the holiness o/ God ? 

On the ground that the Bible is not only a revelation of God, 
but an infallible exhibition of human nature in every form 
of development, as innocent, tempted, fallen, degenerate, re- 



58 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

deemed, believing, rejecting the faith, struggUng, victorious, 
and complete. 

213. How can the imprecatory Psabns, so-called, be recon- 
ciled with the theory of the i^lenary inspiration of the ScrijJture ? 

Biblical Ethics presents us with an advancing system of 
morals — God showing His holy face and character and the 
sublime precepts of morality as men are able to bear them. 
The sentiment of these Psalms, therefore, in so far as it falls 
short of, or is antagonistic to, the spirit of the Gospel, simply 
shows the progress the people of that time had made towards 
tlie sublime morals of Jesus Christ. Moreover these Psalms 
are not so nmch the sentiment of a private person as the official 
man, the King, fighting the enemies of God and of his country. 
Besides, righteous indignation is a cardinal virtue in any man. 



THE CANON OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 

214. What is the j)recise meaning here of the ivord Canon f 

In its original signification, the word meant only a straight 
rod or rule, used as a standard of measurement, but here it 
means the authoritative list or catalogue of those Sacred Books 
which compose the Bible, the Rule of rules, and hence called 
the Canon of Holy Scripture. 

215. Whcd are the books which compose this Canon f 

The official and authoritative records of the two great Dis- 
pensations of Grace, commonly called the Old and New Testa- 
ment Dispensations. 

216. JTotv many books compose the Canon of Holy Scripture? 

Sixty-six : thirty-nine in tlie Old Testament and twenty- 
seven in the New Testament ; and it is a fixed principle witli 
Protestants that these books and no others constitute the Sacred 
Scriptures — that no more can be added and none taken away. 

217. How are these books to be regarded as evidence f 

As sixty-six different volumes, and not one volume. They 
are not to be regarded as so many links in the chain, but as so 
many strands, of evidence. There is, indeed, a golden chain of 



THE CANON OF HOLY SCRIPTURE.' 59 

sacred history from Genesis to Revelation, so that, in a histor- 
ical point of view, many of the books of the Bible are links ; 
but so far as the evidences of Christianity are concerned, they 
are not links, but strands. 

218. ]VhcU is the basis of this distinction ? 

A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and if a single 
link be gone, the whole is useless ; while a single strand in a 
cable inight be weak or worthless without impairing seriously 
the strength of the cable itself. If the Bible were a chain com- 
posed of sixt3'-six links and one of the books be shown to be 
without Divine authoritj^, the force of the whole would be de- 
stroyed ; whereas if each book is but a single strand in the 
great cable of Inspiration, one book might be excluded without 
weakening the force, the Divine authority, of the others. 

219. What great questions are involved in the canonlcitij of the 
books of the Bible .^ 

Three : their Genuineness, Authenticity, and Inspiration. 

220. When is a book said to be genuine f 

When it is known to be written by the person whose name 
it bears, as the author of it, and when the text of it is as it came 
from the author's hands. If the present text varies from the 
original words of the author, it is said to be corrupt^ and if the 
book was not written by the x^retended author, it is said to be 
a f o rge r y — sp urio us. 

221. When is a book of Scripture said to be OMthentic ? 

When it is known to be the work of a genuine original and 
approved authority, so that its statements may be relied on as 
trustworthy and authoritative — that is, that it is the produc- 
tion of a person who wrote under the special guidance of the 
Holy Spirit — which matter— inspiration — is the third element 
involved in canonicity. 

222. Is there a sufficient basis for this distinction between a 
book that is genuine and one that is authentic f 

Yes ; a book may be genuine without being authentic, and, 
again, a book may be authentic without being genuine. 



60 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

223. Is the canonicitfj of a book of Scripture dependent upon 
our knowledge of its human authorship ? 

No ; the authorship of a Book of Holy Scripture being of a 
composite or dual character — Divine-human— the human au- 
thor may be unknown, while, at the same time, it bears the 
stamp of its Divine original, and may also, from external 
sources, be known to be the product of an inspired penman. 

224. What are the facts as to the human authorship of the 
books of the Bible f 

Many of the books, especially of the Old Testament, are 
anonj'mous, and the question as to their real authorship in- 
volved in hopeless obscurity. That these are the works of the 
persons to whom an unbroken tradition for thousands of years 
ascribes them, Modern Criticism hotly disputes. This, however, 
is the less matter, since, on the autliority of an inspired Apostle, 
we are assured that " Holy men of God spake as they were 
moved hy the Holy Spirit" (1 Pet. i. 21). The case is difTerent 
as respects the books of the New Testament, the autliorship of 
each book being readily determined, save only that of the 
"Hebrews," which is still an open question. 

225. Were the j^ersons tvho collected the books and settled the 
Canon of Holy Scripture inspired f 

No; certainly not all of them. Ezra and Nehemiah, the 
collators of the major portion of the books of the Old Testa- 
ment, were ; but the men who finally completed and settled 
the Canon of either Testament, laid no claims to inspiration. 

226. Does not this fact tend to cast some doubt upon the com- 
pleteness and genuineness of Holy Scripture, and to lessen its 
influence as an authority in religion and morals ? 

It may, and doubtless does, with some ; but for no good rea- 
son. For while onl}' an inspired person could write a Book of 
Holy Scripture, it did not require any supernatural gifts to de- 
termine, upon the evidence presented, whether a given book 
was inspired or not. And while the men who settled the Canon 
were not inspired as were the authors of Holy Scripture, they 
acted in the fear of God and by a reason enlightened by the 
influence of the Holy Spirit, Who is the chief administrator 
in the affairs of Christ's kingdom. 



THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON.. 61 

227. What part did the men who settled the Canon play in 
determining its composition f 

The part of Jurors only, and not that of Judges. The ques- 
tion to be determined was, whether such and such a book was 
the work of an inspired autlior. If this was settled in the 
aflftrmative, the book was admitted to a place in the Canon ; if 
not, it was rejected, as a number of candidates for canonicity 
actually was. It was not, therefore, a matter of opinion, or of 
authority, but of Evidence. 

228. Are all the books of Holy Scripture of equal rank, value, 
and sacredness 9 

No ; while they are all of equal Authority as parts of Di- 
vine revelation, they differ in respect of rank, value, and 
sacredness ; while all are in some way "profitable either for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, or for instruction in right- 
eousness" (2 Tim. iii. 16). 

THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON. 

229. In ivhat different forms luas the Old Testament Canon — 
the sacred tvjHtmgs of the Jews— found in the time of our Lord f 

Two : The Palestinian collection, so called, which was 
written in the Hebrew language, and the Alexandrian collec- 
tion, called the Sex^tuagint, or the LXX., which was written in 
Greek, which was the common speech of the Jews who were of 
the Dispersion — scattered abroad among the nations. On this 
account the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek 
became necessary, there being many Jews everywhere who 
knew Greek well enough, but who knew no Hebrew at all, 
whether spoken or written. 

230. What ivas the vernacular or native tongue of Palestine 
in the time of our Lord ?- 

The Aramaic, a language similar to the Hebrew, sometimes 
called the'later Hebrew, and having some such relation to it as 
the English has to the German tongue. 

231. In what state was the Hebrew tongue in our Lord's day? 

It was a dead language when our liord was on earth. It 
may have been the language of the Temple, as Latin is now 
the language of the Roman Catholic mass, and used by scholars 



62 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

only, but the common people did not understand it, nor was it 
spoken familiarly in Palestine. When " the Hebr'ew tongue" 
is mentioned in the New Testament it is the Aramaic that is 
meant, and not the ancient Hebrew. The Greek, on the other 
hand, was the living language and common speech of the 
time, and was spoken everywhere. 

232. Besides being ivritten in Greek, in ivhat other respect did 
the Alexandrian Canon differ from the Palestinian ? 

It contained the books commonly called the Apocrypha — 
non-canonical Jewish histories — and, as a translation from the 
Hebrew, the version was rather free than literal, frecjuently 
missing the sense of the original. These Greek Scriptures, 
were, however, generally received by both Jews and Chris- 
tians ; they were in common use both in the Synagogues and 
in the early Christian Churches ; and from them our Lord 
and His Apostles made most of the quotations which appear 
in the New Testament. 

233. Which of these two collections is the origincd of our Eng 
lish Old Testament f 

The Palestinian collection, or Hebrew Canon, which was sub- 
stantiall^", if not exactly, the same as that of our Old Testa- 
ment, though the books were arranged in very different order. 
Indeed, they were regarded as three distinct groups of writings, 
rather than as one book, and the three groups— the Law, the 
Prophets, and the Writings — appear to have been regarded by 
the Jews as of different degrees of sacredness and authority'. 

234. What j^art of the Hebrew Scriptures embraced the Law f 

This was contained in the first five books of our Bible, called 
by the Jews indifferently " the Law" and " the Law of Moses," 
but known among us as the Pentateuch. This, besides being 
the oldest, was by the Jews regarded as much more sacred and 
authoritative than any other portion ; consequently their ap- 
peal is most often to the Law of Moses, to whom God spake 
face to face, as a man speaketh with his friend. 

235. WTiat Scriptures were embraced in the Prophets f 

This group was subdivided into the Earlier and Later Proph- 
ets, The Earlier Prophets comprise Joshua, the Judges, the 



THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON. 63 

two Books of Samuel counted as one, and the two Books of the 
Kings, counted also as one. The Later Prophets comprise 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve minor propliets. 
These twelve were counted also as one book ; so that there were 
four volumes of the earlier and four of the later prophets. This 
group or portion of the Hebrew Scriptures, containing the six 
historical books mentioned and the fifteen prephetical books 
named — reckoned, however, as only four — was regarded by the 
Jews as standing next in sacredness and value to the Law. 

236. Of what was the group of Writings composed ? 

This group, called by the Greek Fathers " Hagiographa" or 
Holy Writings, but called by the Jews simply "Kethubim," 
or Writings simply, without an epithet, consisted of the Psalms, 
Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, 
Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Chronicles. This 
group of writings was esteemed by the Jews less sacred and 
authoritative than either of the other two groups, the authors 
being supposed to have had a smaller measure of inspiration. 
Respecting two or three of these books, moreover, there was also 
some dispute among the Rabbis as to their right to be regarded 
as Sacred Scripture. 

237. Do these three groups comprise all the writings of a 
sacred character possessed by the Jews ? 

No ; there was ." the Book of the Wars of Jehovah," " the 
Book of Jasher," " the History of Samuel the Seer," " the His- 
tory of Nathan the Prophet," " the History of Gad the Seer," 
" the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite," " the Visions of Iddo 
the Seer concerning Jeroboam, the son of Nebat," " the His- 
tories of Shemiah the Prophet," " the Books of the Chronicles 
of the Kings of Israel," and " the Books of the Chronicles of 
Kings of Judah," and the "Acts of Uzziah,"— to all of which 
reference is made in the canonical Books, but none of which 
have come down to us, all having been suffered to perish. 

238. When and hy whom ivere the writings luhich com,pose the 
Old Testament Canon collected and the Canon settled f 

The Canon in its present shape was formed gradually during 
a lengthened interval, beginning with Ezra in the 5th century 
before Christ, who collected and edited the Law, followed by 



64 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Nehemiah, who collected the Books of the Prophets ; while the 
question concerning the Writings — the third group — was not 
finally settled and the Canon closed till the Synod in Jamina, 
about 90 A.D. The Jewish tradition that the work of collect- 
ing, editing, and authorizing the Sacred Writings was done by 
a certain "Great Synagogue" founded by Ezra, presided over 
by Nehemiah, after him, and continuing in existence down to 
about 200 B.C., is now known to be baseless ; the story of the 
existence of such an institution not being heard of till some 
centuries after Christ. 

239. Does the New Testament give us definite information as 
to the composition of the Old Testament Canon ? 

No ; of the thirty-nine books which compose it, there are six 
whose names the New Testament never quotes, to five of which 
it makes no reference whatever : Tlie three books of Solomon — 
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles, — Esther, Ezra, and Ne- 
hemiah ; while to Judges, Chronicles, and Ezekiel it refers only 
in tlie same way it refers to a number of the apocryphal books. 
The canonicity of the tliirty-three Books to which the New 
Testament refers or from which it quotes is, of course, thereby 
settled beyond question or dispute. It is, however, by no 
means safe to conclude tliat the others, because not referred to, 
or not quoted from, were not therefore regarded as canonical by 
our Lord and His Apostles ; or that they were not a part of the 
Scriptures which Tliey endorsed as of Divine authority. 

240. Ujwn what historical ground do we believe that those 
Books of the Old Testament not referred to in the New Testa- 
ment, are Sacred Books and entitled to a place in the Canon? 

Upon the authority of the Synod of Jamina (a.d. 90), com- 
posed of Jewish ecclesiastics, in whose judgment the prepon- 
derance of evidence was in favor of their canonicity. Even 
after the closing of the Canon b3' that council, however, doubts 
were still entertained by devout Jews concerning Esther. 

241. Would the Bible be seriously effected were those books not 
specifically endorsed by our Lord and His Apostles eliminated 
from the Canon ? 

It certainly would be by so much a less rich volume ; some 
of its brightest gems would be missing ; its historic record 



THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON. 65 

would be wantiDg in its present completeness ; and the absence 
of the Wisdom Literature would leave a great void ; but no 
doctrine of Redemption would thereby be impaired or any 
principle of morals weakened. 

242. Upon what is the Divine authority of those Books about 
which there was no dispute in the time of our Lord^ based ? 

The Jewish historian, Josephus, and Philo, also an eminent 
authority, bear testimony to the fact that these Books which 
make up our English Old Testament constituted, with the six 
already naentioned, the Palestinian or Hebrew Canon ; but 
that which outweighs all other testimony, and without which 
all other testimony would be comparatively valueless, is the 
endorsement of Jesus and His Apostles — that is, the New 
Testament accredits the Old. 

243. Under what threefold division did our Lord refer to, and 
endorse, the Old Testament Scriptures f 

The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke xxiv. 44). 
Just why this third group of sacred writings was called the 
Psalms, save that the Psalter was the initial book of the collec- 
tion, and why the Psalms, so highly prized by the Jews, should 
be placed in that group of sacred writings which was least 
esteemed by them, it is not easy, at this distance of time, to 
tell ; nor is it certain that this group of the Sacred Writings, 
called the Psalms, included all the Books which compose our 
Old Testament Canon, not embraced in the other two. 

244. Did the endorsement of our Lord and His Apostles of the 
Books of the Old Testament extend to their human authorship 
and their ipsissima verba — their very ivords ? 

On this subject scholars are not agreed. The partisans of the 
verbal theory of inspiration, and the very conservative school 
of criticism, say, Aj-e ; the progressives and those who dissent 
from the orthodox view of inspiration say. Nay. And unless 
it can be shown that the collection of Books to which our Lord 
subscribed, was free from the errors which are now found in 
our Bibles, it would seem as though the latter have the best of 
the argument. It is certainly not wise to hold our Lord re- 
sponsible for these errors, trifling though they be, nor to unduly 
extol the Book at the expense of the Man. 

6 



66 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



245. Was the endorsement of our Lord and His Apostles eon- 
fined to the Palestinian or Hebrew Cano7i, or did it extend to the 
Alexandrian collection as well f 

To tlie Alexandrian Canon also, so it would seem ; for it was 
this Greek version (which contained the Apocryphal books), 
which was most used and quoted by the New Testament au- 
thorities ; and it is nowhere stated that it is excluded, either as 
a whole or iu part, from Their common endorsement. 

246. Whij, then, are not the Apocryphal books in our Canon f 

They were not included in the list of inspired Books by the 
Jews themselves ; they are not referred to or quoted, save in a 
very few instances, and for substance only, by our Lord or any 
of the New Testament writers ; and though quoted as Sacred 
Scripture by the early Christian Fathers, and the names of some 
of them appear in the lists of Books regarded as canonical up 
till the Reformation, the judgment of Protestant Christendom 
is, tliat they are not entitled to a place, at least of equal merit 
with the others in the Sacred Volume. ' 

247. Has there ever been any question as to the right of 
any of the Books of the Old Testament Canon to a place 
therein ? 

Yes ; the canonicity of the six books already referred to was 
doubted by the Jews, by the early Christians, by the Reform- 
ers in the 16th century, and are doubted by critics now, the 
preponderance of the evidence, however, being in their favor 
as constituent parts of the inspired records. ' 

248. ^Vhat strong corroborative testimony to the correctness of 
the Canon in our Protestant Bibles, may be adduced f 

The agreement of our Canon with that of the Jews. The 
Palestinian collection and that in our Bibles is exactly alike. 

249. ^Vhat length of time ivas embraced in the writing of the 
Books which compose the Old Testament Canon f 

From Moses to Malachi, a period of about 1000 years, the 
complete record covering certainly not less than 3500 years 
of the world's history. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON. 67 

THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON. 

250. What constituted the Bible of the early Christians ? 

The Old Testament Scriptures. Upon these they reUed 
wholly for religious instruction, and had no thought of any 
other Sacred Scripture. 

251. When and by whom were the Books which compose the 
New Testam^ent written f 

During the second half of the first century of the Christian 
era, either by Apostles of our Lord or other persons acting 
under their superintendence and direction. The non-axDostolic 
writings received apostolic endorsement, and became, there- 
fore, as authoritative as if written by the Apostles themselves. 

252. How came these Apostolic writings to be regarded as 
sacred by the Christian Church ? 

It was a conviction that grew upon the early Christians with 
the passage of time, and the evident value of the writings 
themselves. At first read for suggestion and instruction only, 
no one thought of ranking them in authority and sacredness 
with the Books of the Old Testament. It was not long, how- 
ever, until they began to quote the Gospels and Epistles with 
the same formula as applied to the Old Testament Books ; and 
thus they began to feel the need of making a collection of this 
apostolic literature for use in the churches. 

253. When luas this collection begun, and ivhen was the New 
Testament Canon finally settled? 

The collection was commenced about one hundred years 
after the Books were written, in the second half of the second 
century, lists of the books regarded as canonical being made 
successively in the first two centuries by Irenseus, Clement of 
Alexandria, and Tertullian ; hy Origeii in the third century ; 
by Eusebius " the Father of Church History," Cyril, of Jerusa- 
lem, and Athanasius, in the fourth century ; at the close of 
which, by the decrees of two contemporarj^ councils, both held 
in North Africa — the Councils of Hippo (393), and of Carthage 
(397) — the Canon as we now have it was finally settled. Thus 
the formation of the New Testament Canon, like that of the 



68 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Old, extended over a lengthened interval, a period of not less 
than three hundred years, during which the credentials of 
each candidate for canonicity were thoroughly scrutinized, 
and the authoritative list at length made up. 

254. What turitings not included in our Canon claimed to be 
of Apostolic origin ? 

"The Gospel according to the Egyptians," "The Preaching 
of Peter," "The Acts of Paul," " Tiie Shepherd of Hernias," 
"The Epistle of Barnabas," and several others, all claimed to 
be sacred and apostolic writings, but were rejected as apocry- 
phal, both upon internal grounds and external testimony, as 
not being the product of inspired pens, and consequently not 
entitled to a place in the Canon, though not wanting in ad- 
vocates in the early Church. 

255. How stood the case ivith the candidates for canonicity in 
the early part of the fourth century? 

Eusebius divided the Christian books of that time, claiming 
apostolicity, into three great classes: (1) Homologumena^ the 
authentic and undisputed ; (2) Antilegomena, those assailed 
or called in question, the doubtful ; and (3) Notha, the non- 
authentic, spurious or counterfeit. (See Question 254.) 

256. How stood the Books now in our Canon in relation to the 
first two of these great classes ? 

Of the twenty-seven Books now included in the New Testa- 
ment Canon, twenty — the four Gospels, the Acts, the thirteen 
Pauline Epistles, 1st Peter, and 1st John — were homologumena 
— undisputed from the beginning ; while the other seven—He- 
brews, James, 2d Peter, 2d and 3d John, Jude, and Revelation 
— were less frequently referred to in tlie early ages, and after- 
wards spoken of as antilegomena, though universally received 
into the Canon at the close of the 4th century. 

257. Is there any difference between the New Testament Canon 
of Protestants and that of Roman Catholics f 

No ; the Council of Trent, which settled the books of the 
entire Bible for all the "faithful," left the Canon of the New 
Testament, unlike that of the Old, being composed of exactly 
the same Books, identical with our own. And so it comes to 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON. 69 

pass, that the Old Testament Canon of the Protestants is identi- 
cal with that of the Jews, and their New Testament Canon is 
identical with that of the Roman Catholics ; which is about as 
strong evidence as could be adduced, that the Bible of Protes- 
tants is the Word of God, and that it is well entitled to be 
the basis, as it contains the substance, of their religion. 

258. Has the eanonicity of any of the Books in the New Tes- 
tament Canon been called in question in modern times 9 

Yes ; at the time of the Reformation, Erasmus, a man of 
great learning, denied the apostolic origin of Hebrews, 2d 
Peter, and Revelation. Luther also ventured to declare He- 
brews and the Apocalypse apocryphal, and James as an 
epistle of straw unfit to be in the Canon ; while, as might be 
expected, French infidelit}^ and German rationalism question 
the authenticity and apostolic origin of the Gospel and most of 
the Epistles, declaring the one to be mythical and the other to 
be the product of a post-apostolic period. The consensus of 
opinion throughout Christendom, however, to-day is, that the 
Books of our New Testament Canon are Apostolic and authen- 
tic, and that no others are entitled to a place therein. 

259. Wliat are the great facts ivith regard to the constitution 
of the Canon of Holy Scripture f 

That the credentials of the candidates for eanonicity have 
been thoroughly scrutinized ; that while the great majority of 
the Books in both Testaments have been universally received, 
questions have been raised at various times concerning the 
eanonicity of several of the Books in either Testament ; that 
many good men, from the 2d century before Christ until the 
16th century after Christ, have disputed the authoritj^ of some 
of these Books ; that quite a number of other books have at 
one time and another been regarded as sacred and numbered 
among the Holy Scriptures ; that the final judgment respecting 
these doubtful books is different in different branches of the 
Church, the Roman and Greek Catholic Churches admitting 
into their Canons several books that the Reformed Churches 
exclude from theirs ; and that no supernatural methods have 
been employed to determine the eanonicity of these several 
Books, but tliat the enlightened reason of the Church has been 
the arbiter of the whole matter. 



70 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE APOCRYPHA. 



260. What are the Apocrypha ? 

Certain writings connected witli botli Testaments for which 
a place in the Canon of Holy Scripture is claimed, but to which, 
as uninspired and ordinary human compositions, they are not 
entitled, and are, therefore, non-canonical. 

261. In what respect does the New Testament Canon differ 
from the Old, as to its com,position f 

In this, that although the New Testament Apocrypha are 
much more numerous than those of the Old Testament, not 
one of them is anywhere regarded as belonging to the Canon, 
but in every language, and throughout the world, by every 
Church, the New Testament is universally recognized as being 
composed of the same 27 books, neither more nor less ; whereas 
in the case of the Old Testament, one of the points of difference 
between Pi'otestants and the Church of Rome, relates to the 
Canon of the Hebrew Scriptures. 

262. What are the Old Testament Apocrypha f 

A collection of fourteen writings or books of Jewish origin 
and of great antiquity, written in Hellinistic Greek and found 
in the Septuagint or Greek Version of the Old Testament, but 
not in the original Hebrew. The Jews do not regard the Apoc- 
rypha as a part of their sacred Canon. 

263. What is the true value of the Old Testam,ent Apocrypha f 

Their intrinsic value is as far as possible from being uniform 
or equal. On the contrary, the most remote extremes meet 
in them of eloquence and drivel, of the highest human wisdom 
and the silliest of nonsense. 

264. Of what special use are the Old Testament Apocryp>ha ? 

As historical books, they serve to bridge the chasm or 400- 
3' ear interval between Malachi and Matthew— the Old Testa- 
ment and the Incarnation — the two books of Maccabees being 
almost the only sources of our knowledge as to the period of 
the Maccabees or princes. 



THE APOCRYPHA. 71 

265. Sow do the Neiu Testament Apocrypha compare in point 
of intrinsic merit with those of the Old Testament f 

In the entire heterogenous mass or farrago of New Testament 
Apocrypha, there is not one book or fragment, however small, 
which approaches in literary or religious value the better books 
of the Old Testament Apocrypha. 

266. Should the Apocryphal books be bound up with the ca- 
nonical Scriptures f 

No ; nothing but inspired writings should find a place in the 
Sacred Volume. Their being there gives to them, in the esti- 
mation of many, a quasi cauonicity, and invests them with a 
sacredness to which they are not entitled. The great Bible 
Societies no longer print them in their publications. 

267. Wliat treatment did the Apocrypha receive at the hands 
of Luther and the Council of Trent respectively ? 

Luther included them in his translation of the Bible as 
" books not to be placed on a level with the canonical Scrip- 
tures, but profitable for reading ;" while the Council of Trent, 
as might be expected, put them on a plane of equality with 
the inspired Books, an-d declared that whoever denied their 
canonical character should be Anathema. 

268. What is the reply to the sneer of infidelity that out of a 
m,ass of writings^ canonical and apocryphal alike, the Church 
decided by vote " which should be the Word of God, and which 
should noV ? 

In the settlement of the Canon the Church acted not as 
judges governed simply by their own taste and judgment, but 
as jurors, deciding the fate of any claimant for canonicity solely 
on the evidence adduced for or against its inspiration. If the 
evidence of its inspiration was indubitable, the book or writing 
was admitted to a place in the Sacred Canon ; if not, it was re- 
jected. The basis of the decision was not a matter of opinion^ 
but a question of fact. 

269. A7X all Protestant Churches agreed as to the respect due 
to the Apocrypha 9 

As to the New Testament Apocrypha, Yes ; no body ofj 
Christians having ever thought of exalting them to any place 



72 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

of honor in connection with the Sacred Scriptures ; but as re- 
gards the Old Testament Apocrj^pha, No ; the Greek Church 
and tlie Church of England, or Episcopal Church, according 
to them a place of special secondary honor, while all the other 
divisions of evangelical Christendom exclude them from any- 
place in the Canon, and treat them only as ordinary literature. 



THE TEXT OF THE BIBLE. 

270. }V7iat is that department of JBiblieal science called, which 
has for its object the determination of the text of Holy Scrip- 
ture f 

Textual or Lower Criticism, as contrasted with what is 
called the Higiier Criticism, which has especially to do with 
the literary form in which the Sacred Writings are expressed. 

271. What is meant hy the Text of Holy Scripture f 

The original words, the ipsissbna verba, of the various writ- 
ings which compose the Bible, in exactly the same form and 
shape in which they were penned, without note or comment. 

272. What is the difference between the text and A text of 
Holy Scripture f 

The text is the Sacred Writings as they came from the hands 
of their authors ; while a text is such as may be found in any 
particular copy or edition of the same. 

273. How may these two different texts be described f 

As pure or corrupt. The text of any given copy or edition 
of the Holy Scriptures is Pure when it corresponds exactly 
with the words of the original manuscripts ; and it is more or 
less Corrupt in proportion as it varies from the ipsis8im,a verba 
of those documents. 

274. How could the purity or corruption of any given text of 
the Books of the Bible be best determined f 

By its comparison with the original or autograph copies. 
This, however, is impossible, since there is in existence not a 
single one of all the original autographs of Bible books. 



THE TEXT OP THE BIBLE. 73 

275. What became of these autographs f 

No definite answer to this question can be given. As regards 
the manuscripts of the Old Testament Scriptures, however, it 
is presumed that they perished in the destruction of Solomon's 
temple by Nebuchadnezzar, in the Ark in the Holy of Holies 
of which sacred structure, the inspired productions, so far as 
written, were deposited ; while, as regards the manuscripts of 
the New Testament, the material of which was chiefly papyrus, 
the cheapest but at the same time the least durable material 
that could then be obtained, it is impossible that they could 
have lasted any length of time, considering the constant hand- 
ling to which they must have been subjected. However this 
may be, it is not at all likely they could survive the persecu- 
tions through which the infant Church was called to pass. 
Besides, the piety of the time was not of that relic-loving 
character which was peculiar to the Church of a later day. 

276. Is it a misfortune or a blessing that these precious docu- 
m,ents have been lost 9 

A blessing, doubtless ; for if the autograph manuscripts of 
any of the writings of either Testament, as of Moses, David, 
or Isaiah, or of Matthew, or John, or Paul, had been preserved, 
they would have become, as the Brazen Serpent, objects of 
worship — not teachers of faith, but of superstition. 

277. Have the Scriptures been transmitted to us free from 
corruption, without variation or admixture of error f 

No ; copyists and transcribers have been neither inspired nor 
rendered infallible. Hence the Bible has shared the same fate, 
and been subject to the same sort of error and corruption, to 
which any other book would be liable in passing from hand to 
hand in such a multitude of copies ; save that the sacredness 
of the writings has rendered transcribers more careful in copy- 
ing the Scriptures than they would have been in ordinary 
secular works, the cash value of their copies depending upon 
their accuracy, and so tending to their greater fidelity. 

278. Is it possible, then, to determ,ine, ivith certainty, what the 
ipsissima verba or original text of the sacred penmen was f 

Hardly, perhaps, as to every word and syllable ; but a very 
close approximation to this has been reached, and constitutes, 



74 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

as the last results of the best Christian scholarship, the text of 
the Revised Version of our English Bible. 

279. Where, how many, and of ivhat age are the manuscript 
copies of the Old Testament ? 

In the libraries of Europe and elsewhere, there are 1300 or 
1400 manuscripts of the Old Testament in Hebrew, the oldest 
of which was written in 916 A.D., the others between the 10th 
and 15th centuries. 

280. What is the critical apparatus by means of which the 
original text of the Hebrew Scriptures is restored f 

The manuscript copies of the Old Testament in Hebrew be- 
ing so comparatively modern, the ancient versions or transla- 
tions of this portion of the Bible are mainly relied upon for 
restoring the original text ; although 700 manuscripts have been 
critically examined and compared as corroborative of the cor- 
rectness of the conclusions previously arrived at. 

281. What are the chief versions of the Hebrew Scriptures f 

The Peshito, which, as its name implies, is a very literal 
Syriac translation of the Hebrew, belonging to the first cen- 
tury of the Christian era, and the LXX., or Septuagint, a Greek 
Version, the most ancient of all, having been completed in the 
3d century before Christ, and so representing a text over 1000 
years nearer to the originals of the Old Testament Books than 
the oldest Hebrew manuscript extant. 

282. What special circumstance adds weight to the correctness 
of the conclusion, that we now possess the text of the Old Testa- 
ment in its approxim,ate original purity ? 

The Bibliolatrous tendencies of the Jews after their return 
from their Exile, which led them to regard the Sacred Writ- 
ings with the utmost reverence, even to the counting of every 
letter of every book, and registering the very tittles of the law. 

283. How many various readings have been found in the 
m,anuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures f 

About 1300 of value. Of these, 566 are adopted in our Au- 
thorized English Version ; 147 of the whole affect the sense, 



THE TEXT OF THE BIBLE. 75 

but none can be regarded as theologically or doctrinally im- 
portant : generally to correct a date or complete the sense. 

284. What is a summary proof of the general accuracy of the 
present text of the Bible f 

That the Jew agrees with the Christian as to the letter of 
the Old Testament, and the Romanist with the Protestant as 
to the letter of the New. 

285. y^here are they, how many are there, and what is the age, 
of the manuscripts of the New Testament now extant f 

In the libraries of Europe and other portions of the world, 
there are some 2000 manuscripts which have been collected, 
catalogued, and analyzed, the oldest of which was written 
about the middle of the 4th century, but the vast majority of 
which are comparatively modern, dating from the 10th century. 

286. Do the texts of these various extant manuscripts agree f 

No ; in their reproduction by copyists variants to the num- 
ber of 150,000 have made their way into the text. 

287. Should these various readings alarm Christians f 

No, quite the contrary ; for it is by a careful counting and 
weighing of the various readings of these numerous manu- 
scripts that scholars have been enabled to approximate very 
nearly the true text ! Every verse and word of the New Testa- 
ment has been examined and compared in the manuscripts of 
different ages and various languages, and all being weighed in 
the balance of correct principles, the result is a text undoubt- 
edly nearer to the originals of the New Testament than has 
been any since the patristic age — the period nearest to the 
Apostolic era — and is what may be confidently regarded as a 
correct copy of the original Greek Scriptures. 

288. How can it he made to appear that the great variety of 
readings is an aid to deterTnining the time text of Scripture 9 

Suppose that one possessed fifty to a hundred fairly good 
copies of some document, and in each one there were fifty mis- 
takes, they would not all be the same mistakes. If, for exam- 
ple, you found in one a word was left out, while it appeared in 
the other forty-nine, you would have no doubt that the forty- 



76 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

nine were right and the one wrong. On the other hand, if 
one inserted a sentence which the other forty-nine left out, it 
would be pretty clear evidence that the sentence did not belong 
to the document. And it is by such counting and compari- 
sons of the numerous manuscripts of the Bible books, that 
critics arrive at the conclusion as to what the correct text is. 

289. What does an analysis of the various readings show as to 
tJieir importance and value, and the state of the text ? 

That nineteen-twentieths of them are of no authority, no one 
can suppose them to be genuine ; and nineteen-twentieths of 
the remainder are of no importance affecting the sense. Com- 
petent authorities declare that the most inaccurate text ever 
written leaves the truths of Scripture substantially unchanged, 
no article of faith being thereby contradicted on any precept 
of duty obscured. The variations are tiny and insignificant. 

290. What are the facts as to the present state of the textf 

Seven-eighths of the words of the New Testament have passed 
the ordeal of textual criticism without question ; and of the 
remaining one-eighth, only a small fraction is subject to a 
reasonable doubt ; so thixt ftfti/- nine-sixtieths of the words of the 
Greek Scriptures, as they came from the original authors, are 
known with practical certainty. And even of the one-sixtieth 
open to question, the larger part of the doubt pertains to 
changes of order in the words, and other trivialities ; so that 
the amount of what can in any sense be called substantial 
variation is but a small fraction of the whole variation, and 
can hardly form more than a thousandth part of the whole. 

291. How is the chasm bridged between the earliest extant 
manuscripts and the original documents — some 300 years f 

(1) By means of translations or versions from the originals, 
which were prior to the oldest manuscript copies, two of which 
come from the second century ; (2) by numerous quotations 
by Fathers who were either contemporary with the Apostles 
themselves, or with those who were their immediate disciples ; 
and (3) by means of wide-spread quotations in Christian litera- 
ture, hostile as well as friendly, from the beginning of the 
Church. These and the oldest manuscript are in substantial 
agreement. It is confidently asserted by conipetent authori- 



THE TEXT OF THE BIBLE. 77 

ties that were the New Testament lost, the entire text could be 
substantially reproduced from the pages of the enemies of 
Christianity, such as Celsus and Porphyry. 

292. How does the testimony to the purity of the Biblical text 
compare with that thought necessary to establish an accurate 
text of a classic author f 

Vastly preponderating in favor of the former, or the text of 
Scripture. In the case of the Greek and Roman classics ten or 
twenty manuscripts are deemed amply sufficient to form an 
accurate text ; while in the case of the Scriptures there are 200 
times as many ; besides, no manuscript of any classic author 
compares in age or accuracy, no less than in numbers, with 
those of either the Old or New Testament Scriptures. 

293. What did the celebrated German scholar and GhiHstian, 
Bengel, say to his pupil Reuss touching the accuracy of the text ? 

" Eat the bread of Scripture in simplicity, just as you have 
it, and do not be disturbed if here and there you find a grain 
of sand which the mill-stone may have suffered to pass. If the 
Holy Scriptures, which have been so often copied, were abso- 
lutely without variations, this would be so great a miracle tliat 
faith in them would be no longer faith. I am astonished, on 
the contrary, that from all these transcriptions there has not 
resulted a greater number of readings." 

294. Which of the versions is considered by critics the most 
valuable in determining the original text ? 

The Peshito-Syriac Version, which was made, in all proba- 
bility, during the latter half of the second century, being of a 
most literal character, and regarded as the Queen of the Versions 
of Holy Writ, is at once the best witness for the ancient text, 
and, at the same time, also a help to the sense. 

295. How may the infallibility and security of the Divine tes- 
timony^ thus manifested, be justly regarded'? 

As a miracle of Divine providence and grace, so that in lit- 
eral truth we may say, " Forever, O Jehovah, Thy Word is 
settled in Heaven. Thou hast magnified Thy Word above 
all Thy Name." 



78 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE HIGHER CRITICISM. 

296. What is criticism f 

Criticism in general is the art of judging, by persons pre- 
sumably qualified to do so — specialists, connoisseurs — of the 
merits or demerits of any work of art, or product of the pen. 

297. What is literary criticism f 

The application of certain accepted rules to any product of 
the pen with the view of understanding it in its beauties and 
blemislies, its excellencies and defects, as a whole and in its 
parts, as it is in itself, and as it is in its vital relations. 

298. What is Biblical criticism, f 

It is one of the departments of historical criticism, as histor- 
ical criticism is one of tlie divisions of general criticism, and 
has for its object the examination of the Bible, with the view 
of determining wliether that Book is what it purports to be — 
a revelation from God ; whetber its various parts are in their 
integritj^ or in a mutilated form ; whether its Books are genuine 
or spurious ; whotlier their contents are authentic and authori- 
tativ^e, or mythical and unworthy of credence or "accepta- 
tion ;" and whether the text of the whole is pure or corrupt. 

299. Is not such handling of the Word sacrilegious ? 

That depends on the spirit and purpose in and for which 
such investigation is undertaken and prosecuted. Tliere is 
criticism and criticism — an examination of the Word of God 
that is reverent and devout and for holy ends, and a criticism 
that is animated b}' a spirit of hostility to the Book, and char- 
acterized by an undevout flippancy and recklessness of specu- 
lation, and an ill-concealed contempt, which betray the unbe- 
lief and destructive purpose of the critic. The first is justifiable 
and right ; the latter is sacrilegious— profane and wicked. 

300. Should not the Bible be accorded a different treatment 
from that of any ordinary book ? 

Yes and No. As a Book which purports to be of Divine 
authenticity. Yes— it should be treated with such reverence 
and humility as are due to its Supernatural Origin, at least 
until its claims to such origin should be shown to be baseless ; 



THE HIGHER CRITICISM. 79 

while in so far as its human elements are concerned, No — it 
should not be exempt, as it seeks not immunity, from the same 
tests of genuineness and authenticity, and the same rules and 
principles of interpretation to which any ordinary composition 
is subject ; provided, always, the Supernatural element — the 
Divinity it enshrines — is taken into the account as a factor in 
the solution of the problems it presents, and as a necessary 
means of accounting for the phenomena it exhibits. 

301. Into hoiu many departments is Biblical criticism divided f 

Its departments are two ; that which relates to the text 
itself, and that which relates to the literary forms and contents 
of the Bible, The former is called Textual, or Lower, and 
the latter the Higher Criticism. 

302. What is the Lower Criticism f 

The Textual or Lower Criticism — which is Biblical criticism 
in the strict and proper sense of that term — assumes the credi- 
bility, authenticity, and general integrity of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, or leaves the discussion of these subjects to other depart- 
ments of sacred learning, and undertakes {q. 270) to determine 
what is the genuine original text, and to apply to the text, so 
ascertained, the principles of exegesis with the view of discov- 
ering the precise meaning of its words, irrespective of any 
previously adopted theological system. 

303. What is the Higher Criticism, ? 

It is the infelicitous name borne by that new discipline which 
essays to approach the Scriptures in the spirit of an Investi- 
gator rather than of an Advocate, and, subjecting them to a 
rigid scientific treatment, to make them tell their own story 
as to the authorship, date, scope, aim, and relations historical 
and doctrinal of the particular Books or of certain groups of 
Books to each other and to the entire Scripture, irrespective of 
traditional opinions or dogmatic prepossessions with regard to 
them. In other words, it has for its object the seeking to find 
out from the Bible itself its own natural history. 

304. What is the nature of this Higher Criticism f 

It is of a most recondite or abstruse character, involving 
questions respecting the original languages of the Sacred Scrip- 



80 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

tures and the style in which they are written — critical prob- 
lems of the merits of which common people can form no opinion 
whatsoever, and matters concerning which they must, there- 
fore, contentedly take upon trust. It is only with regard to the 
deductions and conclusions of the critics, as tested by consid- 
erations within their range, that the common people can ven- 
ture to express an opinion or render a judgment. 

305. How Is this Higher CrUlcls^n now generally regarded ? 

It is looked upon with great distrust by the Church at large. 
Its most recent deliverances have carried consternation and 
dismaj'^ into the camp of conservative Christendom. At this 
writing (May, 1891) the great Presbyterian Church is in a 
state of violent perturbation owing to the radical and revolu- 
tionary declarations of a professor in one of its leading Theolog- 
ical Seminaries, who is the chief representative of that science 
— if science it may be called — in this country. By a practically 
unanimous vote (440 to 60) the General Assembly at Detroit 
has repudiated the radical utterances of this professor. 

306. What 7'6le have the higher critics felt called upon to play ^ 
and in what spirit have they performed their part f 

That of Iconoclasts. With a haughtiness unbecoming their 
profession, with a spirit not always reverent and sometimes 
wholly irreverent, with an air of absoluteness and finality 
which the proofs do not warrant, instead of approaching the 
Bible and dealing with it as a veritable Book of God, but in a 
spirit of apparent hostility to the Book, it would seem to be the 
purpose of the critics to prove that the Volume held sacred by 
Christians has no real claim to be considered a Book of God at 
all. With an intense antipathy to what they call " the tradi- 
tional view," they are unsparing in their denunciation of the 
old beliefs, and are apparently happiest when they have said 
something that especially shocks our reverential feeling for the 
Book of books. 

307. What is the nature of the findings of the Higher Criticism ? 

Revolutionary in the last degree. Confining their labors, at 
present, mainly to the Old Testament, the critics, to their own 
evident satisfaction, have succeeded in reducing that part of 
the Sacred Volume to a confused mass of miscellaneous frag- 



THE HIGHER CRITICISM. 81 

ments — a sort of crazy-quilt, patch-work affair — a composite 
production whose sources and authorship are involved in 
inextricable confusion and hopeless obscurity — the result of 
what would seem to be a studied effort to prove that nothing 
in the Old Testament is as we have supposed it to be. The 
effect of all this is, in so far as these conclusions of the critics are 
trusted, to divest the Scriptures of all Divine Authority, so 
that as a guide to religion they are scarcely worth the paper 
they are printed on. 

808. What are some of these alleged discoveries f 

That the Pentateuch — those books which purport to be the 
earliest — so far from being contemporary with the events they 
record, or with the author to whom they are ascribed, are 
comparatively recent compilations from uncertain sources, and 
therefore without authority. In particular, the Higher Criti- 
cism boldly declares that Moses did not write the Pentateuch 
or Job ; Ezra did not write the Chronicles, Ezra, orNehemiah ; 
Jeremiah did not write the Kings or Lamentations ; David 
did not write the Psalter, but only a few of the Psalms ; Sol- 
omon did not write the Song of Songs or Ecclesiastes, and only 
a portion of the Proverbs ; Isaiah did not write half of the Book 
that bears his name ; in a word, that the great mass of the 
Old Testament was written by authors whose names or con- 
nection with their writings are lost in oblivion. 

309. Upon what grounds or premises do the higher critics base 
such a vast fabric of revolutionary conclusions? 

On the grounds of a diversity of language and variation in 
the style of writing, and that the several Books contain ana- 
chronisms — errors in fixing, the time of events — contradictions, 
and statements disproved by history. 

310. W7iat would be the effect of such displacement of the Pen- 
tateuch as the Higher Criticism contemplates ? 

It would be to divest the Books of an historical, and to in- 
vest them with a legendary, character ; to literally stand the 
Old Testament history and religion on its head, and make 
Mosaism, not the fountain-head and beginning of the religious 
development of the Jews, but actually the outcome and final 
result of this process ! 

6 



82 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

311. Are we to conclude that, if the various books of the Old 
Testametit were not written by the men to whom they have 
been traditionally ascinbed, they are therefore '•'■forged and 
spurious'^ f 

No ; if, instead of the majority of tlie Books of the Old Tes- 
tament belonging to the " No Name Series," as they do, being 
anonymous, the name of the alleged author was found in the 
Books themselves ; and if upon other grounds it was conclu- 
sively demonstrated that the Books were not, and could not, 
be the product of such an alleged author, then the conclusion 
would be inevitable, that they were "forged and spurious," 
and of course without authority as a guide in religion. To say, 
however, for instance, that the twenty-third Psalm, whose 
authorship is by no means certain, though traditionally as- 
cribed to David, is " forged and spurious," would be only more 
shocking to piety than to reason. The genuineness of this and 
other Psalms, and of the other Books of the Old Testament, is 
vouched for both by internal and external testimony, though 
the authorship is, at best, only guessed at ; so that for any one 
to reject any part of God's messages to us until he can identify 
specifically and with certainty every one of the individual 
messengers, would be presumption passing all the bounds of 
piety. It would be rationalism gone mad. It is not the 
Human Authorship, but the Divine Authenticity, that con- 
cerns us most.' On the latter our faith must stand, not on the 
former — in the Power of God, not in the Wisdom of man. 

312. Whence had this new and vaunting science its origin f 

In Germanj'^, the land of scholars, of speculative philosophers 
and sceptical theologians, where is also its stronghold ; al- 
though it is not wanting in adherents in England, Scotland, 
and also in this country ; where, however, its radical and 
revolutionary conclusions are most vigorously contested by the 
most competent scholarship. 

313. Into how many schools is this Criticism divided f 

Two : the Evangelical and Rationalistic schools ; that is, the 
school of Faith and that of Unbelief. The former receives the 
Bible, for substance, as a Revelation from God ; while the 
latter rejects its Divine authenticity, and places it on the same 
level with the literary remains of India, Greece, and Rome, 



THE HIGHER CRITICISM. 83 

and makes Mosaism and Christianity to differ, not in kind, 
but only in degree, from the rehgions of the Pagan peoples 
with which they were surrounded. 

314. HoiD docs the rationalistic school of the Higher Criticism 
account for Christianity f 

On the theory of Evolution— Darwinism imported into Bibli- 
cal science. The facts, however, in the one case, as in the other, 
are against the theory. Naturalism is wholly inadequate to 
explain the phenomena of either the past or the present of the 
religious world. 

315. What is the briefest demonstration of the Divinity of 
the ChiHstian religion ? 

The Jewish people and Jesus Christ— the History and the 
Biography. These are the basis on which Christianity rests ; 
and the existence of either is impossible without a supernatu- 
ral origin and development. And to get rid of this super- 
natural element the rationalistic higher critics are under the 
necessity of reconstructing Old Testament story, eliminating 
miracle and prophecy, so as to make it square with their the- 
ory, and to declare that Jesus Christ was not an historical, 
but a legendary, person — a myth ! 

316. In what respect does the evangelical differ from the 
rationalistic school of Higher Criticism ? 

Chiefly in respect of the Supernatural. It receives the Bible 
as containing the Revelation of God to man, and, believing in 
the reality both of Miracle and Predictive Prophecy, it is not 
under the necessity of reconstructing the history, as are their 
out-and-out rationalizing brethren, though agreeing with thern 
as to the errancy of Scripture in its circumstantials, the com- 
posite authorship of some of its Books, and other minor details. 

317. Is Christianity likely to yield to the assaults of this scep- 
tical Criticism 9 

No ; rationalistic criticism will be met in the future, as in 
the past, with Christian criticism— sceptical scholarship with 
the scholarship of faith. And, however it may be with the 
"circumstantials" in which errors may be found, the citadel, 
so long victoriously held by faith and reason, both through 



84 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Hebrew and through Christian ages, will remain unassailed, 
and the documents of Holy Writ emerge substantially unhurt 
from the inquisitive and searching analysis of the Higher Criti- 
cism — often higher, it should be remarked, by being up among 
the clouds of incomprehensibleness — of the modern time. All 
the old truths stand fast. And with the advancing ages the 
historical Christianity of the Bible is seen more and more to 
rest on such a solid foundation of fact in Man, in Nature, and 
in God, that the old revealed truth can no more be uprooted 
than the pillars of the universe ! 

318. Is therCy then, any occasion for alarm or fear for the Ark 
of God from, the Higher Criticism,, so-called ? 

No; "the Scriptures cannot be broken," even though the 
criticism to which they are subjected were as hostile as it is 
supposed to be. The critics are not agreed. Moreover, they 
are honest in their differences, and, for the most part, devout 
in their search after truth. Let the experts in this new science 
fight it out among themselves. Meantime, we who are not 
experts need not be in a hurry to accept the Dogmatic and 
Unproved assertions of men on either side of the controversy. 
We can afford to stand by what is called " the traditional 
view" until we are driven out of it by proofs level to the 
apprehension, not only of the expert, but of the common, 
mind. 

319. What are the chief objections to the Higher Criticism f 

These are mainly four : (1) Its Subjectiveness — too many of 
its conclusions being due more to the fertile feeling, to the lit- 
erary sense or instinct, and to mere conjecture on the part of 
the critics themselves, than to any justifying causes or reasons 
of an external sort ; (2) its Negativeness— its results are, for the 
most part, but a bundle of negations or an accumulation of fog 
and surmise, which leaves us half the time in doubt whether 
we are dealing with a veritable Book of God, or only with a 
Jewish literature, not very much unlike the literature of other 
ancient nations ; (3) its Destructiveness — it tends rather to a 
subtle unbelief than to the nurture and strengthening of an 
evangelical faith ; and (4) while assuming to be a real Science, 
it is Unscientific— a real science always advances beyond the 
sphere of mere negation, and leads the mind from doubt to 



THE HIGHER CRITICISM. 85 

certainty ; but the direct contrary is the mental state in which 
the Higher Criticism, leaves us. 

320. How does Gladstone^ the great English Commoner, deal 
with the findings of the Higher Critics f 

In his " Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture," " the Grand 
Old Man," leaving the questions of language and style to the 
warring critics, canvasses and questions their conclusions on 
purely historical grounds, and succeeds in clearly demonstra- 
ting that the theories of the destructives are untenable, and 
their conclusions unwarranted. 

321. What four 'marked benefits have come to Christian schol- 
arship and the whole Church of God from the sound and ivise 
application of the critical principles of this science ? 

(1) The historic development of the Hebraic legislation along 
lines both supernatural and natural ; (2) the beautiful growth 
of Hebrew psalmody from the Davadic stock ; (3) the orderly 
progression of predictive prophecy, especially respecting 
Christ ; and (4) the wonderful superhuman progress of doc- 
trine in both the Old Testament and the New. These results 
enable us better to understand the Bible as an insjoired Book, 
and fill us with a fresh sense of its unspeakable worth as a 
Divine Revelation, 

322. On ivhat ground should the Scriptwes he accepted by the 
common Christian f 

On the moral and spiritual and historical ground of their 
character in themselves, and of the work they and the agen- 
cies associated with them have done and are doing in tlie 
world. They should be judged by their fruits, leaving to the 
critics all questions of detail as to the origin, date, authorship, 
and text of the Books of the Sacred Volume. 

323. How should the Scriptures be viewed by the ordinary 
Christian f 

Broadly and largely as by people of sense : and they should 
not allow themselves to be won away from that broad and 
large contemplation into critical discussions for which they aro 
not competent— discussions which though in their own place 



86 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

legitimate, even needful, — yet are secondary, and tlierefore, 
when substituted for the primary, are worse than frivolous. 

324. From what ive know of H'lh tnethod in other dejKirtmoiis, 
ivhat principle of p>i'Occdare might lue reasonably expect God to 
adopt in giving to us the revelation of His ivill f 

That of Sufficiency, not of perfection ; of sufficiency for the 
attainment of practical ends, not conformity to ideal standards. 

325. What effect has the m,odern destructive literary criticism 
upon the prestige of the Sacred Volume ? 

The position held by the Bible is ineffable and unapproach- 
able. In their substantial tissue, the Holy Scriptures rise far 
above the region of criticism, which can do nothing permanent 
or effectual to lower their moral and spiritual grandeur, or to 
disguise or intercept their gigantic work. 

326. What should be the attitude of the Christian Church to- 
wards the criticism of the day ? 

That not only of toleration, but of generous hospitality. 
Only the chaff of human theory and human dogmatism will 
be consumed in its fires. From it the Scriptures themselves 
have nothing to fear. Opposition to these critical inquiries, 
which cannot cease so long as the human mind loves truth 
and values the Scriptures, makes the impression that faith in 
the Bible has been lost, and that the real facts are feared. Ig- 
norant or prejudiced attacks on criticism, or summary dog- 
matic solutions of the profoundest problems only hurt the 
cause it is souglit to promote. Earnest men are anxious, and 
imperatively demand, to know the truth, the whole truth, and 
nothing but the truth respecting the Bible ; but they do not 
want mere theories of ({uarrelling critics to be proclaimed as 
final demonstrations, nor subjective whims to be palmed olf on 
them as ultimate wisdom. 

327. What is the surest cure for scepticism, respecting the Bible 
as the Word of God ? 

A deeper knowledge, a more intimate acquaintance with the 
contents of the Book itself. No candid inquirer, who prayer- 
fully consults the Bible itself, and not relying upon what this 
or that person, however great or learned, says about the Bible, 



BIBLE CHRONOLOGY. 87 

can fail to conclude that it is what it purports to be — the Word 
of God. More Bible, therefore, is the infallible cure for scepti- 
cism about the Bible. 

328. What is a lyractlcal cure for scepticisin f 

Continued engagement in some actual work for the glory of 
God and the good of our fellow creatures. Christianity is not 
a state of opinion and speculation, but is essentially practical ; 
so that the greatest curer of corrupt, speculative Christianity, 
is Practical Christianity ! 

BIBLE CHRONOLOGY. 

329. What is Chronology ? 

The science of computing and adjusting the epochs and pe- 
riods of time. 

330. How are these epochs computed ? 

By fixing the date of any given event and measuring the 
distance between it and some other occurrence in history. 

331. How is such a fixed point designated 9 
As the beginning of an epoch or an era. 

332. Is there any parallel in this 7'espect hetiveen chronology 
and any other science f 

Yes ; dates are to events in history what latitude and longi- 
tude are to the places in Geography and Navigation. 

333. Is there any affinity hetiveen history and chronology ? 

Yes ; history without chronology is dark and confused ; 
while chronology without history is dry and insipid. 

334. Is chronology i'm2Jortant in the study of the Bible ? 

Yes ; a knowledge of the order of events, and of the inter- 
vals between them, is essential to a proper understanding of 
many of its parts and passages. 

335. What are some instances of its importance ? 

It illustrates the depravity of human nature to Ivuow that in 
the second generation from Adam all flesh had so corrupted its 



88 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

way upon the earth, that it repented the Lord that He had 
made man. Again, it is an aggravation of the guilt of Sodom 
and Gomorrah, tliat when they became so utterly wicked iheir 
progenitor, Noah, had not been dead a hundred years. 

336. In what waij can chronology account for the transmission 
of truth from the earliest times f 

An examination of the 5th chapter of Genesis will show that 
Noah might have received the account of the creation from 
Adam, through Enos only, or from Lamech, his own father. 
Lamech was 56 years contemporary with Adam, and 100 years 
with Shem. Shem was contemporary for several years witli 
Abraham and Isaac. The communication, therefore, from 
Adam to Isaac— a period of more than 2000 years— may only 
have been through Lamech and Shem. 

337. IToiu docs chronologu show the faithfulness o/ Jehovah? 

More than 4000 years elapsed between the time of the first 
promise— Protevangelium— and its fulfihnent in the coming of 
Christ ; more than 400 between tlie promise given to Abra- 
ham and its aceomi)lishment in the occupation of Palestine 
under Joshua ; and not less than 400 between the prophecy of 
Malachi and its fulfilment in John the Baptist. 

338. Has chronologu amj special hearing on prophecy '^ 

Yes ; this knowledge is especially important in interpreting 
prophecy, both to enable us to ascertain the event foretold, 
and to perceive the accomplishment. 

339. Is the method of computation in chronology uniform f 

No; there are various systems of chronology, such as the 
Chinese, Babylonian, Egyptian, Indian, Clialdean, Greek, and 
Roman, all dillering the one from the other. 

340. What are the facts about those long oriental chronologies, 
which are so at variance with the received chronology ? 

No nation has credible, or even intelligible, records extend- 
ing earlier than the Flood. The dynasties of Egypt run up on 
the largest interpretation no higher than B.C. 2200. The cele- 
brated chronology of India reaches no higher than B.C. 2256, 
and then we have Buddha himself the representative of Noah. 



BIBLE CHRONOLOGY. 89 

341. How does our Bible chronology differ from every other f 

lu its historicity — the comparatively recent date it assigns 
to tlie advent of man upon our globe, the absence of those in- 
definite mythological jDeriods — the reign of gods and demi- 
gods — those prehistoric eras, which are so characteristic of 
oriental chronologies, designed to give to their respective 
nationalities a fabulous antiquity. 

342. 7s Bibliccd chronology an exact science f 

No ; writers on this subject are not agreed as to the dates of 
either the creation of man or the Flood. One writer on the 
chronology of sacred history collected more than 200 variant 
estimates of the era of the creation, the shortest being 3483, 
and the longest 6984 B.C. — the latter estimate being just twice 
the length of the former. Absolute accuracy is therefore im- 
possible, and approximate results all that is attainable. 

343. What is the difference in the chronology of the three chief 
copies of the Bible f 

The Hebrew text reckons 4000 years from the Creation to 
the birth of Christ, and to the Flood 1656 years ; the Samari- 
tan makes the former much longer, though it counts from the 
Creation to the Flood only 1307 years. The Septuagint differs 
from both, removing the Creation of Man to 6000 years before 
Christ, and 2250 years before the Flood. 

344. How is the chronology of the Hebrew text designated when 
compared ivith that of the Samaritan Bible and the Septuagint f 

The former is called the Shorter, and the latter the Longer, 
Chronology, the difference between the two being some 1500 
years in the antiquity of man, to the time of Christ. 

345. What is the latest guess as to the antiquity of man f 

A most conservative critic, and a scholar of wide repute, a 
professor iu a Presbyterian Theological Seminary, gives it as 
his opinion that the earlier genealogies of Genesis do not fur- 
nish a basis for a chronology, and admits that man may 
have existed on the globe at least ten or fifteen thousand 
years ; and how much longer he does not pretend to say ! 
This view harmonizes with that of Baron Bunsen, who places 
Adam at a distance of 20,000 years away from Christ. 

8* 



90 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

346. What is (he specific event from which Biblical chronology 
should be com2nUed f 

Not from the Creation of the World, but from the Advent of 
Man upon it, the creation of the latter being the last in a series 
of events which may have occupied a period of time, the length 
of which we have no means of computing. 

347. Which of the two chronologies, the shorter or the longer, 
is adojyted in our English Bible ? 

The shorter, the dates ascertained from the Hebrew Text 
and adjusted by Archbishop Usher, being the one in common 
use, and being as probable, to say the least, as the longer or 
opposite sj'stem, and which, at any rate, answers quite well 
for all practical purposes. The difference can be borne in 
mind and allowed for in the calculations of any who prefer 
the longer system. 

348. What antiquity does Usher assign to man at the time of 
Christ, and how arc its various epochs diuidedf 

From Adam to Christ . . •. 4004 yrs. 

which is divided into six periods, as follows : 

1. From Adam to the Flood 1656 

2. From the Flood to the call of Abraham 427 

3 From the call of Al)raham to the Exode 430 

4. From the Exode to the Fomidation of Solomon's 

Temple 479 

5 From the latter event to the Restoration of the Jews 

from the Babylonian Captivity 476 

6. From the Restoration to the Advent of Christ. . , 536 4004 

349. How is the duration of the First i^criod computed ? 

By sinuming up the ages of the patriarchs (Gen. v.) on the 
birth of the son whose name is placed on the list (not always 
the eldest), which amounts, according to the common Hebre.w 
Text, to 1656 years, or 2848 B.C. 2.348 B.C. + 1656 A.M. = 4004 
years, the entire length of the period from Adam to Christ. 

350. How is this result in the First period made apparent? 

1. Adam lived 130 years and begat 

2. Seth, who lived 105 " " " 

3. Enos, who lived 90 " " " 

4 Cainan, who lived 70 " " " 

5. Mahaleel, who lived 65 " " " 

6. Jared, who lived 162 " 



BIBLE CHRONOLOGY. 91 

7. Enoch, who lived 65 years and begat 

8. Methuselah, who lived 187 " " " 

9. Lamech, who lived 182 " " " 

10. Noah, who was 600 years at the Flood. 

From Adam to Noah 1656 years. 

351. What great events took place in the Second period f 

The building of the Tower of Babel, and the consequent 
Confusion of Tongues and the Dispersion of the people, which 
took place 131 years after the Flood, in the time of Peleg, 
(which signifies division, Gen. x. 25 and xi.), B.C. 2217, and 
1787 A.M., since 1787 + 2217 = 4004. 

352. What are the items in this computation 9 

1. Shem (Noah's son) lived after the Flood . . . 2 years, and begat 

2. Arphaxed, who lived 35 " " " 

3. Salah, " " 30 " " " 

4. Heber, " " . 34 " " " 

5. Peleg, " " 30 " " " 

From the Flood to the Dispersion, .... 131 years. 

6. Reu, who lived after the Dispersion, .... 32 years, and begat 

7. Serug, who lived 30 " " " 

8. Nahor, " " 29 " " " 

9. Terah, " " 130 " " " 

10. Abraham, who at his call was 75 " old. 

From the Dispersion to Abraham 296 years. 

From the Flood to Abraham 427 years. 

That is, the Call of Abraham took place in a.m. 2083 (1656 -f 
427 = 2083), and B.C. 1921 years ; since 2083 + 1921 = 4004. 

353. What are the facts in the Third period f 

Abraham lived after his call 25 years, and begat 

Isaac, who lived 60 " " " 

Jacob, who, when, with his family, he went into 

Egypt, was 130 years old. 

From the descent into Egypt to the Exode ... 215 years. 

From Abraham to the Exode 430 years. 

That is, the Exode took place in a.m. 2513 (since 1656 + 427 
+ 430 = 2513), and 1491 years B.C. (since 2513 + 1491 = 4004). 

354. How were the 215 years which Israel was in Egypt, s2oent f 

One hundred and twenty-eight (128) years in freedom and 
prosperity, and eighty-seven (87) in bondage and severe toil. 



92 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

355. How is this made apparent f 

Jacob, after his arrival in Egypt, lived 17 years. 

Joseph, after his father's death, lived 53 " 

From Joseph's death till bondage began 58 " 

Total period in prosperity 128 " 

Bondage began by Rameses before Moses w^as born .... 7 " 
Bondage continued till, at the Exode, Moses was aged . . 80 " 

Duration of the Bondage 87 " 

Whole period in Egypt 215 years. 

356. How are the 479 years of the Fourth period made up 9 

From the Exode to the death of Moses 40 years. 

The administration of Joshua 25 " 

The period of the Judges (?) 331 " 

The reigns of Saul and David, each 10 years 80 " 

Temple begun in Solomon's third 3 " 

From the Exode to Solomon's Temple 479 years. 

Tliat is to say, the foundation of Solomon's Temple was laid 
in A.M. 2992 (since 1656 -f- 427 + 430 + 479 = 2992), and B.C. 1012 
(since 2992 + 1012 = 4004). 

357. What are the chief events in the Fifth period f 

The splendid reign of Solomon ; the division of Solomon's 
empire under Relioboain ; the Captivity of Israel and after- 
wards of Judah ; the liestoration of the Jews after the 70 years' 
exile in Babylon, which took place in a.m. 3468 (since the 2992 
years of previous periods + the 476 of this = 3468), and 536 B.C. 
(since 3468 + 536 = 4004). 

358. What are the chief events in the Sixth period f 

These may be found in the interval between the Old and 
New Testaments, in Part II. of this volume. 

359. What is the difference between the Shorter {Hebrew) and 
the Longer {Scp>tuagint) chronology, and in ivhat periods are 
the chief variatiofis ? 

Fifteen hundred years, the variations occurring mainly in 
the first two periods. The Septuagint reckons 2262 instead of 
1656 years from Adam to the Deluge — a difference of 606 years ; 
and 1207 instead of 427 years from the Flood till the Calling of 
Abraham— a difference of 780 years ; also in the fourth period 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE. 93 

there is a difference of 122 years, 601 instead of 479 years being 
reclioued between the Exode and the Foundation of Solomon's 
Temple. All these differences are in favor of the longer chro- 
nology. It will be noted also, that, the four middle periods are 
very nearly the same length : from the Flood to the Calling 
of Abraham, 427 years ; from the Call of Abraham to the 
Exode, 430 years ; from the Exode to the Foundation of Sol- 
omon's Temple, 479 years ; and from this last event to the 
Restoration, 476 years— according to the shorter, or generally 
received chronology. 

360. Into what four periods of 1000 years each r)iay the pre- 
Christian era be divided f 

From the creation of Adam till the Translation of Enoch ; 
from the Translation of Enoch till the Birth of Abraham ; from 
the Birth of Abraham till the Dedication of Solomon's Temple ; 
and from the Dedication of Solomon's Temple till the Advent. 

GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE. 

361. WJiat is geography f 

Geography is the science which treats of the world and its in- 
habitants, under its twofold division of historical and physical. 

362. What is Biblical Geography ? 

The general science limited in its application to those por- 
tions of the world to which the Bible refers. The oldest geo- 
graphical records are in the Bible. 

363. Is a Jcnoivledge of Biblical geography needful to a proper 
understanding of the Scripture f 

Yes ; such knowledge will often explain and reconcile the 
statements of the Bible, show the beauty and truthfulness of 
particular passages, and bring out the sense which might other- 
wise remain concealed. A knowledge of the geography of 
Bible lands is, therefore, a Scripture illuminant. 

364. IIoiv should the Study of the Bible in respect of its geog- 
raphy be prosecuted f 

With the aid of an ancient atlas, or at least a good map, to 
which constant reference should be made, until the geography 



94 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

of the lands and the topography of the prominent places re- 
ferred to in the Sacred Volume are indelibly impressed upon 
the mind. No well-instructed scribe or student of the Word 
can afford to neglect this important aid to its interpretation. 

365. In what part of the world are the lands of the Bible f 
In the Eastern Hemisphere— the countrj^ of the Orient. * 

366. In luhich of the great political divisions of the eastern 
hemisphere are most of the lands of the Bible to be found f 

In Asia, which is divided into Asia Proper and Asia Minor. 

367. To what partieular territory has Luke reference when he 
says, in Acts xvi. 6, that they '■'■were forbidden to preach the 
word in Asia'''' ? 

Proconsular Asia, on the extreme western coast of Asia 
Minor, of which Ephesus was the capital. 

368. What Bible countries does Asia Proper include ? 

Armenia, Media, Persia, Assyria, Chaldea, Mesopotamia, 
Syria, and Arabia. In the modern atlas these countries are 
all embraced in Turkey in Asia, Persia, and Arabia. 

369. Where and what is Asia Minor f 

It extends westward from tlie Euphrates towards Europe, 
and lies between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. It is 
a large peninsula, including the provinces of Pontus, Cappado- 
cia, and Cilicia ; Pisidia, Pamphylia and Galatia ; Bithynia, 
Mysia, Lydia, and Lysia. 

370. How are the Asias related to the two Testaments ? 

The countries in Asia Proper are those which pertain to Old 
Testament history ; while those embraced in Asia Minor, t^)- 
gether with Syria, are related to New Testament story. 

371 . What parts of Africa contain Bible lands f 

The extreme northeastern part— Egypt, Libya, and Cj^rene 
a little to the westward, with Ethiopia to the south. 



GEOGRAPHY PALESTINE. 95 

372. What portions of Europe are associated with Christian 
history^ as related to the New Testament f 

The southern portions, Italy, Greece, Macedonia (Tlirace), 
Illyricuni, and the islands in the Mediterranean Sea and its 
arms— the Adriatic and ^gean Seas. 

373. Where was the Garden of Eden ? 

This matter is involved in inextricable mystery ; for while 
all critics agree that it was somewhere in Asia Proper, the 
exact spot has never been identified, and doubtless never will 
be. The spot most commonly agreed upon, however, is at the 
confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates. 

374. What part of the globe is first identified with the human 
family in the Biblical records ? 

The high parts of Armenia in Asia, Mt. Ararat, and the 
fertile plains between the two great rivers, the Tigris and the 
Euphrates, are indicated as the first settlement of mankind 
after the Flood. On the banks of these rivers men first formed 
societies ; on the Euphrates rose the city of Babylon, and on 
the Tigris the city of Nineveh. 

375. Where do we next find men? 

After the Dispersion in consequence of the pride and idolatry 
of Shinar, Shem, the first son of Noah, with his descendants, 
occupied the peninsula between the Black Sea and the Indian 
Ocean, in Asia ; Ham, the second son, Africa ; and, after some 
time, Japhet, the third son, Europe and part of Asia. 

376. From what point inay a view of the Bible lands be hadf 

From the summit of Mount Lebanon, the White Mountain 
of Syria, which constitutes the natural boundary between 
Syria and Palestine — the Mont Blanc of that region. Round 
this centre lie the lands of the Bible. 



PALESTINE. 

377. What position did Palestine sustain to other Bible lands ? 

A central position — central not only to Bible lands, but to 
the world as then known. As in society we find a central 



96 THE TEMPLE OPENED. ^ 

power, in religion a central principle, in philosophy a central ji 
idea, among the peoples a central race — the Hebrews, so among 
the divisions of the earth we find a central land, Palestine, the 
home of the central race — the Chosen People. 

378. What are the various names hy which this central land 
is known in the Bible 9 

(1). Canaan. — So called from its aboriginal inhabitants, who 
were the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, and the 
grandson of Noah. 

(2). Palestine. — The Land of the Shepherds, so called from 
the pursuit of the people wlio early inhabited it. 

(3). Land of Israel.— So called from the descendants of 
Jacob, afterwards called Israel, the Father of the Twelve 
Tribes, amongst whom the country- was divided hy Joshua. 

(4). Land of Promise. — So called from the Covenant into 
which God entered with Abraham and his posterity respecting 
this territory. 

(5). The Holy Land.— So called because of the sacred 
character of many of the transactions which took place within 
its limits ; and especially as the land of God, of the great 
Theophanies or manifestations of God, of which that of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was the last and greatest. 

(6). JuDiEA. — So called from the fact that the tribe of Judah, 
after the Captivity, had extended itself from the southern 
portion to the whole of the country, even that beyond Jordan, 
and occupied it almost alone. 

379. What are the dimensions of the Holy Land 9 

By no means commensurate in size or physical character- 
istics with, or ^proportioned to, its moral and historical position 
as the theatre of the most momentous events in the world's 
history. It is but a strip of country, whose extreme length 
from north to south, from Dan to Beersheba, is less than 200 
miles, and at its greatest breadth but about 90 miles, with an 
average breadth of barely 40 miles — a small region, but, never- 
theless, one of the most remarkable countries of our globe. 

380. How is the Holy Land bounded 9 

It seems shut in on all sides Its western boundary is the 
Great Sea. On the southwest it is desert. On the south a 



GEOGRAPHY — PALESTINE. 97 

range of high hills and the barren sands of the Arabah, the 
southern end of the Jordan valley, forbid all access to the 
wilderness of Sinai and the waters of the Red Sea. On the 
east, there are the sandy plains of Arabia, stretching away 
to the great river Euphrates ; and on the north, a mountain 
terminating on the snow-capped summits of Lebanon. 

381. What is the phy steal appearance of Palestine f 

Remarkably broken and mountainous, of which the chief sys- 
tems are two ridges of Lebanon, known as Libanus and Anti- 
libanus, which, running northward from Hermon, are lost in 
Asia Minor, inclosing between them the Hollow of Syria — 
Coele-Syria — whose capital is Baalbec, the city of the Sun — 
run also southward through the whole of Palestine in nearly 
parallel directions, till the left-hand ridge is lost in the Red 
Sea, and the right-hand ridge in the peninsula of Sinai. 

382. How are these ridges variously known in Palestine f 

The western ridge at its different points as the Mountains of 
Naphtali in Galilee, of Ephraim or Israel in Samaria, and 
the Mountains of Judah, or the hill-country of Judea ; and the 
eastern, the Mountains of Bashan, Gilead, Abarim, and Moab. 

383. What were the products of Palestine f 

The climate and surface of the country being of the most 
varied character, the products of all climes were found within 
its limits, and upon the same range of hills were often grow- 
ing the fig and date of the tropics, with the oak and fir of the 
temperate zone. 

384. How is Palestine divided ? 

Longitudinally, by the valley of the Jordan — the river of the 
Holy Land — which separates the two ranges of Lebanon into 
two great sections known as Eastern and Western Palestine. 

385. How were these two sections of Palestine designated by 
the Children of Israel f 

As the majority of the people dwelt west of the river, they 
referred to that portion as " this side of Jordan," and to the 
region on the east side of the river, as " beyond Jordan," 

7 



98 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE JORDAN RIVER. 

386. What are the source^ course^ and issue of the Jordan ? 

Taking its rise among the Lebanon Mountains in the north, 
it flows almost due south, first 20 miles through a marshy plain 
to the Lake Hooleh or Merom, then about nine miles to the 
Lake of Gennesaret or Sea of Galilee, and thence issuing a 
headlong torrent, crooked and precipitous, through a narrow 
valley, falling rapidly meanwhile, it finally disembogues, dis- 
charging its waters into the Dead or Salt Sea. 

387. What is the lengtJi of the Jordan f 

From the Hasbeiya source in Lebanon to the Dead Sea the 
direct distance is about 120 miles ; but owing to its exceedingly 
tortuous course the actual length of the river channel is 200 
miles, the addition to the direct distance in consequence of the 
winding of the channel being, from the source to the end of 
the Sea of Galilee, 20 per cent., and for the remainder of the 
distance 100 per cent. This would make the water in the first 
part 60 miles long, and in the second part 140 miles. 

388. What is the width of the Jordan ? 

Between the Lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea its aver- 
age is from 70 to 80 yards, though at its mouth it is 180 yards. 

389. What are the ''failings'' of the Jordan ? 

As a general outline, it may be said that the Jordan runs 20 
miles, falling, in this distance, 1400 feet, into a basin 12 miles 
long that takes in Lake Hooleh ; then it runs nine miles, fall- 
ing 700 feet, into another basin 14 miles long, the Sea of Gali- 
lee ; then it runs 65 miles, falling 700 feet, into a basin 46 miles 
long, the Dead Sea, the surface of which is 1300 feet below the 
level of the Mediterranean. 

390. What is the total fall of the Jordan f 

The Hasbeij^a source is 1700 feet above the Mediterranean, 
and the Dead Sea is 1300 feet below the Mediterranean, so that 
the total fall of Jordan is 3000 feet, which would be 15 feet per 
mile of its channel, or 25 feet per mile of its direct distance. 



GEOGRAPHY — THE DEAD SEA. 99 

391. For what is the Jordan celebrated f 

As the scene of several miraculous events. Its Avaters ' ' stood, 
and rose up upon a heap," to allow a passage for the Israelites, 
on tlieir journey from the desert (Josh. iii. 16) ; and tliey were 
afterwards divided by the prophets Elijali and Elisha (2 Kings 
ii.). In the Jordan, at Bethabara, our Saviour was baptized by 
John the Baptist, and ordained of Heaven for His redemptive 
work (Matt. iii. 13 ; Jno. i. 28). 

392. How does the Jordan compare with other rivers ? 

It is witliout a parallel, historical and ph^-sical. A complete 
river beneath the level of the ocean, disappearing in a lake 
which has no outlet, and which could have none, the Jordan 
Is the none-such river of the world. 



THE DEAD SEA. 

398. Wliat are the names by which that body of water which 
is the receptacle of the issues of the Jordan, is known f 

(1) In the Old Testament it is referred to as " the Sea of the 
Arabah " — sea of the plain — and from the property of its water, 
''the Salt Sea." (2) In the Talmudic books it is called both 
the *' Sea of Salt," and the " Sea of Sodom ;" (3) Josephus and 
others name it the "Asphaltic Lake;" (4) the name "Dead 
Sea," by which it is now generally known, was given to it by 
Greek writers about the beginning of the Christian era. 

394. What are the peculiarities of the Dead Sea f 

The most remarkable body of water in the world, among its 
chief features of interest are : (1) the extraordinary depression 
of the basin which it occupies, the surface of the Sea being 1300 
feet below the level of the " Great Sea," — lower than any water 
known, — and the bottom of the sea 1300 feet below the surface ; 
(2) its want of outlet, voiding the water poured into it from all 
sides by evaporation only ; (3) its choking air and steaming 
atmosphere, due chiefly to its deep depression between high 
bluff" shores, and the consequent intense heat and evaporatign ; 
(4) the wild and desolate character of these mountain shores, 
and the general absence of life in and around it. 



100 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

395. What are curious facts about the Dead Sea f 

The distance from its top to its bottom, 1300 feet, measures 
the height of its banks ; 1300 feet, the elevation of the Mediter- 
ranean above tlie surface of its waters, and the difference of 
level between tlie bottom of the two seas — the Mediterranean 
being about 4000 feet deep— and that the depth of tlie Dead Sea 
is also an exact multiple (1300 X 3) of the height of Jerusalem 
above it, 3900 feet. 

396. What are the dimensions of the Dead Sea f 

Oblong in contour, its extreme length is 46 miles, and its 
greatest breadth 10 miles. 

WESTERN PALESTINE. 

397. How may Western Palestine be described ? 

As a mountainous, central district, running north and south, 
flanked on each side by a plain. 

398. How do these two plains differ in extent and fertility f 

The plain on the west, that of the sea-coast, has an average 
width of 12 or 14 miles. Tlie plain on the east, the valley of 
the Jordan, lying between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, 
is narrower tlian the plain of the coast, reaching a breadth of 
onlj^ 8 or 10 miles in its widest part, at Jericho. In point of 
fertility the western plain also far exceeds that of the east. 

399. What is the character of the central region lying between 
these two plains — the Mediterranean and the Jordan f 

This region, embracing the principal bulk of Palestine, is a 
mountainous district, extending from below Hebron on the 
south to the plain of Esdraelon on the north, 80 miles long by 
30 miles wide ; and to the north of this plain, which sweeps 
across the country from east to west, along the northern end 
of the central region of Samaria, is the hill-country of Galilee, 
which rises steeply out of this plain, and extending north- 
ward up the high slopes of Lebanon and Hermon, completes 
the view of this central region. It preserves from north to 
south a very even and horizontal profile. Its average height 
may be taken as 1500 to 1800 feet above the Mediterranean. 



GEOGRAPHY EASTERN PALESTINE, 101 

406. How does Eastern Palestine compare in extent with the 
western section ? 

It is much smaller in area than its parallel section over the 
Jordan, being but a narrow strip with an average breadth of 
scarcely more than twenty miles. This territory Joshua gave 
to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. 

407. WJiat is remarkable about Bashan f 

Its giant cities built and occupied /o7'^^ centuries ago (Deut. 
iii. 4, 5, 14) are there to this day. Though deserted, these cities 
are not ruined. Many of the houses in these ancient cities of 
Bashan are perfect, as if only finislied yesterday. These dead 
and deserted cities are living monuments of the truth of the 
statements of the sacred historian. 

408. IIoiv was Eastern Palestine divided in the time of 
Christ ? 

Into two provinces : (1) Per^ea (or beyond Jordan), which 
included Trachonitis, Itursea or Auranitis, Gaulonitis, and Ab- 
ilene, that is, the ancient Bashan, Persea Proper (between the 
Arnon and the Jabbok), where John the Baptist was beheaded, 
and Decapolis, or the Ten Cities ; and (2) Idumsea, a province 
added by the Romans, which comprised the extreme south 
parts of Judaea, with a small part of Arabia. 

409. How does Eastern Palestine compare with the Western 
Section in its connection ivlth the history of the Hebreiu people ? 

There is scarcely any comparison at all between them, the 
eastern section having cut hardly any figure in the history of 
the nation of Israel. Nearly all the great events took place on 
the other side of Jordan . 

410. What places and occurrences in the Eastern Section are 
ivorthy of special mention ? 

Penuel or Peniel (the Face of God) on the brook or river 
Jabbok is illustrious because there Jacob, on his return from 
Padanaram, wrestled with God, and there his name was 
changed from Jacob to Israel ; Mahanaim, where Jacob saw 
God's host encamped and where the angels of God met him, 
and where, in the middle history of the nation, David took 



102 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Into three provinces, Galilee in the north, Samaria in the 
middle, and Judaea in the south. 

403. What are the famous " Mounts^ ^ of Western Palestine ? 

Hattin, tlie scene of the Sermon on the Mount ; Tabor, which 
some suppose was the scene of the Transfiguration of our Lord ; 
Gilboa, where Saul and Jonathan were slain ; and Carmel, 
where Elijah won his triumph over the priests of Baal — all in 
Galilee ; Gerezim and Ebal, the Mounts of blessing and cursing, 
in Samaria ; and Olivet in Judea, where our Lord sat when 
He wept over Jerusalem, the scene also of His ascension. 

404. What were the principal cities in Western Palestine ? 

Hebron, one of the oldest cities in the world, where lived 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, — Gilgal where were erected the 
twelve stones taken from the river when the Israelites passed 
over, and where were located the schools of the prophets, — 
Jericho, the city whose walls fell at the blowing of the rams' 
horns under Joshua, and which was visited by our Lord when 
He lodged with Zaccheus, the publican,— Bethlehem, the city 
of David, where Jesus was born, and Jerusalem, "the city of 
the Great King," the capital of the Holy Land, and the centre 
of the Hebrew worship — all in Judea ; — Shiloh, the place of 
the Tabernacle and centre of worship for four hundred years 
in Samaria ; — Nazareth, where Jesus was brought up, and from 
the top of whose precipitous hill His townsmen in their rage 
sought to cast Him down that He might be killed,— Cana, where 
He turned the water into wine, and Capernaum, "His own 
city," His head-quarters during His missionary labors in the 
north— all in Galilee. 

EASTERN PALESTINE. 

405. What are the ph7/sical characteristics of Eastern Pales- 
tine — " beyond Jordan'^ ? 

Much less mountainous and broken in its surface than the 
western section. South of Hermon are the broad and beauti- 
ful pasture-lands of Bashan ; next to the south rise the high 
lands or mountains of Gilead ; and still southward of this are 
the more uneven and mountainous, but rich and fertile terri- 
tories of Ammon, Moab, and Edom. 



GEOGRAPHY WESTERN PALESTINE. 



103 



400. For ivhat is the plain of Esdraelon^ otherwise known as 
the plain of Jezreel and Megiddo^ famous f 

(1) The river Kishoii, that " ancient river," flows through it 
into tlie '' Great Sea"— not far from Acre. (2) Tlie little town 
of Nazareth, where "Jesus was brought up," lies among the 
hills to the north. (3) Palestine being nearly in the centre of 
the ancient world, being equally distant from the heart of 
Asia, of Africa, and of Europe, and on the high-road between 
them all, this chiefest of its plains has been a battle-field of 
successive armies for more than 3000 vears. 




401. How was Western Palestine divided by Joshua ? 

Into nine parts, representing as many of the tribes of Israel : 
in the north, Asher, Naphtali, Zebulon, and Issachar — all 
in Galilee ; in the middle, Ephraim and half the tribe of Ma- 
nasseh — in Samaria ; in the south, Judah, Benjamin, Dan, and 
Simeon — in Judgea. 



402. Hoiu ivas Western Palestine divided in the days of our 
Lord f 



104 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

refuge when driven out of the western part of his Kingdom 
by Absalom ; Machserus, a fortress on the eastern shore of the 
Dead Sea, where Elijah II., John the Baptist, was beheaded ; 
and Nebo, or Pisgah, a peak in the Abarim Mountains, over 
against Jericho, where Moses took his first and last view of 
the Promised Land. 

GALILEE AND ITS SEA. 

411. What and where is Galilee ? 

The most northerly of the three provinces into which west- 
ern Palestine — Palestine Proper — was divided in the time of 
our Lord, including the ancient territories of Issachar, Zebulin, 
Asher, and Naphtali. 

412. ITow was Oalllee itself divided ? 

Into two sections— Upper and Lower Galilee. 

413. What did Lower Oalllee include? 

The great plain of Esdraelon with its offshoots, which ran 
down to the Jordan and tlie Lake of Tiberias ; and the whole 
of the hill-country adjoining it on the north to the foot of the 
mountain range. It was one of the finest and most beautiful 
sections of Palestine, as all of Galilee was of the whole earth. 

414. What did *' Upper^^ Oalllee embrace'^ 

The whole mountain range lying between the Upper Jordan 
and Phoenicia. This was "Galilee of the Gentiles." The 
town of Capernaum was in Upper Galilee. 

415. For what in particular is Galilee celebrated'? 

As the scene of the greatest part of our Lord's private life 
and public acts. His early years were spent in Nazareth in 
Lower Galilee, and Capernaum in the upper section was His 
home or head-quarters while He was carrying on His great 
work in the district or regions round about. Moreover, the 
Apostles of our Lord were all either Galileans by birth or by 
residence. The first three Gospels are chiefly taken up with 
our Lord's ministrations in this province, while the Fourth 
Gospel dwells more upon those in Judaea. 



GEOGRAPHY — GALILEE AND ITS SEA. 105 

416. By what various narties was the Sea of Oalilee known f 

In the Old Testament it is known as ' ' the Sea of Chin- 
nereth." In the Gospels, from the province in which it lies, it 
is called the Sea of Galilee ; from the fertile and beautiful 
plain at its northwest angle, it is called the Lake of Gen- 
nesaret ; and from the celebrated city on its shores, it is called 
the Sea of Tiberias. 

417. What is the shape and size of the Sea of Galilee ? 

Of an oval shape, it is about 13 miles long, and, at its widest 
point, 6| miles broad. 

418. JETow does the Sea of Galilee compare with its sister lake^ 
the grave of the Jordan on the south f 

They cannot be compared with each other at all, but only 
contrasted, the latter giving to the natural features of the Sea 
of Galilee a peculiar interest. If the southern lake is the Sea 
of Death, the northern is emphatically the Sea of Life, ren- 
dered so in the time of Christ by both nature and art. The 
Rabbis were wont to say that God made seven seas in Canaan, 
but chose one for Himself — the Sea of Galilee. 

419. For what is the Sea of Galilee remarkable 9 

Its deep depression, being 650 feet below the Mediterranean 
Sea level, or just one-half as low as the Dead Sea, which is 
1300 feet below the level of " the Great Sea." 

420. What effect has this deep depression on its climate f 

Very marked — the climate of the shores being almost tropi- 
cal. In summer the heat is intense, and even in early spring 
the air has something of an Egyptian balminess. 

421. To what is the celebrity of the Sea of Galilee chiefly due f 

To the fact that it was the immediate theatre of much the 
larger portion of our Lord's public ministry, and witnessed 
most of His public works. Here were Capernaum— " exalted 
to Heaven,"— Bethsaida and Chorazin. Here were the Syna- 
gogues in which He habitually taught,— the sea-side by which 
He in turn discoursed,— the waters over which He sailed, and 



106 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

on which He walked,— the desert places in which He sought 
retirement, and to which the multitudes followed Him, and 
wliere they were fed by Him. 

JUD^A AND JERUSALEM. 

422. Where is Judcea f 

The most southerly province of the three into which Western 
Palestine was divided in the time of Christ. 

423. For ivhat Is Judcea GJdefly celebrated f 

As containing the "city" of our Lord's birth, and as being 
the theatre of both His earliest and latest labors ; and as 
having for its capital — as it was also the capital of the united 
Kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon — what is per- 
haps the most remarkable city in tlie world — Jerusalem. 

424. To what is the renoivn of Jerusalein due ? 

The surpassing fact that, " the city of the Great King," in 
it was the Temple of Jehovah, the earthly dwelling-place or 
palace of the Most High, and the not less tremendous cir- 
cumstance that, without its gate, the "One greater than the 
Temple" gave Himself a Sacrifice for the Redemption of man. 
These circumstances invest the Holy City and its environs 
with a distinction all their own — with a sanctity and glory 
truly celestial. 

425. How did Jerusalem compare ivith ancient Rome f 

Rome was built upon seven hills, Jerusalem on four. Rome 
was the head of the secular world, Jerusalem of the sacred 
world. Rome was the symbol of power and law, Jerusalem 
the emblem of Divine Truth and Salvation. In the Empire of 
Earth, Rome reigned unrivalled ; in the domain of Religion, of 
Faith, of Heaven, Jerusalem was equally unrivalled. And by 
as much as the Heavenly surpasses the earthly, by so much do 
the associations of ancient Jerusalem surpass in attractive in- 
terest those of Rome. 

426. By what names ivas Jerusalem, previously known? 

In the days of Abraham it w^as called Salem— the City of 
Peace— and it was known as Jebus when the children of Israel 



GEOGRAPHY — JUDAEA AND JERUSALEM. 107 

first gained possession of the Holy Land, and when David 
took it and made it the capital of his kingdom. 

427. What is the geographical position of Jerusalem? 

Its latitude is that of the northern end of the Dead Sea, its 
distance from the Mediterranean 32 miles, and from the Jordan 
Valley and the Dead Sea 18 miles. 

428. What is the altitude of Jerusalem 9 

As compared with Mount Lebanon, which is 200 miles to the 
north, and Mount Sinai, which is 200 miles to the south, both 
of which rise to the height of 10,000 feet above the level of the 
Mediterranean, Jerusalem, which stands on a mountain ridge 
at an elevation of only 2600 feet above the great sea, may be 
said to occupy the centre and highest elevation of a great basin 
between these two points, from which it is equidistant. Com- 
pared, however, with the general region amid which Jerusalem 
is placed, its elevation is very great ; yet in reference to the 
adjacent country, the city is not elevated, the summit of 
Mount Olives on the east being 100 feet higher than the highest 
point of Jerusalem, and from which was obtained the most 
commanding and enrapturing view of the ancient city. 

429. What is the situation of Jerusalem ? 

The city stands on a raised plateau, on a foundation of high 
rock, with four heads or hills, and with a steep ascent on every 
side except the north. Deep trench-like valleys surround it 
on three sides, one of which also penetrates the city itself; and 
beyond these valleys are still higher hills — mountains they are 
called — so that the city is not easily visible from a distance. 
"The Queen of the East," " Beautiful for situation, the joy of 
the whole earth is Mount Zion, the city of the Gkeat King." 

430. WTiat was the ^iosition of Jerusalem, in point of security f 

By reason of its great elevation, and the precipitous character 
of the sides of the ridge on which it stands, especially the side 
towards the Jordan valley, and the peculiar situation of the 
city itself, approachable only by wild mountain roads — the 
position was one of great natural strength ; while " God was 
known in her palaces for a refuge." 



108 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

431. What was the population of Jerusalem f 

This is commonly vastly overestimated. The area contained 
within the old walls never could have exceeded 180 acres — the 
plateau on which the city was huilt being little more than haU' 
a mile broad by a mile in length. So that instead of the mil- 
lion inhabitants credited to it by Josephus and others, in the 
days of its greatest prosperit3^, the population never, except on 
festival occasions, when probably one-half more were added to 
this amount, could have exceeded, if it ever reached, 50,000. 

THE LAND AND THE BOOK. 

432. What is a distinguishing feature of the Bible as a Book ? 

Its Oriental complexion, which reveals at once the region of 
the world in which it was composed. There is not in existence 
another work or collection of literary productions which reflect 
so completely, as do the Scriptures in almost every line, the 
historic surroundings of the time and place under the influence 
of which they were written. 

483. What tcstimomj does the geography of Palestine hear to 
the truth of that history wliich purports to emanate thence ? 

The very strongest. The natural scenery of Palestine speaks 
in but one voice in favor of the Bible ; every word of the sacred 
narrative receives its best interpretation by being studied in 
connection with the place where it was recorded. The actual 
features of the land are seen to be so entwined with the Scrip- 
ture history, in a way so strongly upholding it as veritable, 
and to exhibit it as vividly real, that even Renan, the gifted 
but godless French Hebraist, critic, and litterateur, author of 
the so-called Life of Christ, significantly calls the Holy Land 
"the fifth Gospel," The Land corroborates the Book. Di- 
rectly and indirectly the whole Scriptures tell the time and 
place of their origin. 

434. Are there any special efforts being m^ade towards the in- 
vestigation of Bible lands and Bible times f 

Yes ; learned societies in England, Germany, and the United 
States, at a vast expense of time and money, have been, and 
are, prosecuting this work, not only in Palestine but also in 



THE LAND AND THE BOOK. 109 

other Oriental countries ; the regions of the Nile, the Euphrates 
and tlie Tigris, are all being thoroughly explored. 

435. What is the result of these explorations and researches f 
In all directions — in Palestine, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and 

Persia — the confirmation of the Bible records. It is thereby 
made evident that the more light science and investigation 
throw upon the Sacred Volume, all the more do its contents 
appear to be the truth, — that Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt, 
once the favorite resort of infidelity, now supply some of the 
most decisive external evidences of the truth of Scripture. 

436. What is the theory of the rationalistic " higher criticism'''' 
touching the reliability of the Old Testament records f 

That no records before the times of David are historically 
reliable, because there were no written records before that date, 
and that, therefore, the Pentateuch, Joshua, and the earlier 
Books are frauds and forgeries ! 

437. WJiat facts hearing on this j^oint have recent discoveries 
brought to light ? 

That already between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries 
before Christ, in the very days of the patriarchs, before Moses 
was born — a century before the Exodus — active literary inter- 
course was carried on throughout the civilized world of West- 
ern Asia, through the medium of the Babylonian language, 
between Babylonia and Egypt and the smaller states of Pales- 
tine, of Syria, and Mesopotamia — the lands in which the people 
of Israel lived. The tiles of Egypt and the rocks of Arabia 
alike cry out against the infidel hypothesis ! Both Egyptology 
and Assyriology protest against it as false and impious ! 

438. What people have been^ as it ivere^ resurrected to testify 
to the truth of the Old Testament records ? 

The Hittites. Nearly all traces of this once powerful Orien- 
tal and Biblical people had been lost in secular literature, and 
the reference to them in the Bible was made the base of a 
charge of unhistorical character. Recent discoveries, however, 
in Asia Minor, Egypt, and Babylonia have brought to light 
evidences in abundance that this people not only existed as 
described in the Scriptures, but that they were a most impor- 
tant factor in the ups and downs of Asia Minor. 



110 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

439. What testimony do the hieroglyphics of Egypt heofr to the 
truthfulness of the sacred records ? 

While they contain no certain reference to the Israelites and 
their sojourn in that country, yet these same records in every- 
thing they give concerning the old customs and manners of the 
Egyptians, agree and confirm even to the smallest minutiae the 
Egyptian historical data and background of Genesis and Exo- 
dus. They show that when Herodotus and other historians 
diflTer from the Bible, the Bible is right. 



NOTE TO PART II. 



In the study of Part II., constant reference should 
be made to the Bible itself; and its Books, and the 
passages cited, should be read again and again, until 
the student becomes familiar with the contents of 
the sacred page. 



PART II. 

THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

THE INTERIOR GLORIES OF THE TEMPLE. 

GENERAL VIEW. 

1. What are the grand divisions of the Bible 9 
Two : the Old and New Testaments. 

2. What are the grounds of this division f 

The contents and language of the parts. The foi'mer, 
which contains the History of Redemption from Adam till 
Christ, being, for the most part, originally written in Hebrew, 
and the latter, which contains the Records of Redemption 
brought to completion under the Gospel, being originally 
written in Hellenistic Greek. 

3. WJiat is the precise signification of the word " Testament^'' 
as a name for the parts of the Bible ? 

Testament commonly means a will — an instrument in writ- 
ing, according to the tenor of which a person's property is dis- 
posed of after he is dead. As applied to the parts of the Bible, 
therefore, it is misleading, and does not fairly convey the sense 
of the Greek word. It is not intended as an index to the na- 
ture of the contents of the two parts of the Bible, but is sim- 
ply a name for the Books which contain the records of the two 
great Dispensations of Grace — the Old and the New, the 
Mosaic and the Christian. Dispensation, Covenant, or Econ- 
omy would, either of them, be a more accurate and suggestive 
title for the two grand divisions of the Sacred Scriptures. 

4. In hoiv raaMy ways or successive dispensations has God 
been pleased to t^eveal Himself to man? 

Four: the Adamic, the Patriarchal, the Mosaic or Legal, 
and the Gospel or Christian dispensations. 

Ill 



112 THE TEiMPLE OPENED. 

5. }V7iat ivas the length of these various dispensations ? 

The Adamic contiuued only during man's innocency ; the 
Patriarchal histed more than 2300 years, till the death of Joseph 
(Genesis) ; tlie Mosaic was in force about 1500 years, till the 
advent of Christ (Exodus — Malachi) ; and the Gospel or Chris- 
tian dispensation, which has now existed nearly as long as the 
longest of the previous economies, and which will continue 
till the Consummation of the World (New Testament). 

6. What are the characteristics of these various dispensations ? 

In the Adamic, God held intercourse directly with man ; 
during the Patriarchal era by means of Theophanies, God's 
manifestations of Himself by actual appearances, by angels 
and otlier agents ; throughout the Mosaic dispensation by 
means of a written law and an organized priesthood ; in the 
Gospel era by means of His Word and Spirit, through 
Christ, the last and greatest Theophany, as Mediator. 

7. WJien the Old Covenant is spoken of, to ivhioh dispensation 
does it have reference ? 

To the Mosaic dispensation, or the Jewish economy. It is 
with this that the New Covenant or Gospel dispensation is 
always contrasted or compared (2 Cor. iii.). 

8. What is the relation of these two great dispensations f 
Intimate and vital. They are not too separate and distinct 

things, but a twofold manifestation of the one great thing, — 
the Love of God in tlie Salvation of our Ruined Race. The 
one dispensation presumes the existence of the other, the New 
of the Old, the Christian of the Mosaic. 

9. How are the two x>cirts of the Sacred Volume sometimes 
distinguished from one another? 

In colloquial language the records of the ancient dispensa- 
tions are not infrequently called the Bible, and those of the 
new or Christian dispensation, the Testament; the former is 
also called the Hebrew, and the latter the Greek, Scriptures. 

10. }VJiat four great histories are contained in the Bible ? 

A History of Redemption ; a History of the Jews ; a History 
of the Redeemer ; and a History of the Genesis or First Plant- 
ing of Christianity in the World, 



OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS. 113 

OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS. 

11. Of what is the Old Testament coinxjosed ? 

Thirty-nine separate books, as we have them in our English 
Bible ; though in the Hebrew the number was much less, the 
Five Books of Moses being reckoned as one ; the Three Doubles 
— Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles— one each ; Jeremiah and 
Lamentations one ; and the Twelve Minor Prophets but one. 

12. Hoiu are these Books commonly divided ? 

Into four parts, according to their authorship and contents : 
The Pentateuch, 5 ; the Historical Books, 12 ; the Poetical Books, 
5 ; and the Prophetical Books, 17. As, however, the Penta- 
teuch is very largely historical in its contents, the number of 
the divisions might be reduced to the last three ; while the 
peculiarity of the Books, at the same time, warrant their 
being placed in a separate class. 

13. What are the names of the Books of the Pentateuch ? 

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy — 
covering the period from Creation till the constitution of the 
Hebrew Commonwealth — at least 2500 years. 

14. Wliat are the names of the Twelve historical Books ? 

Joshua, Judges, and Ruth— from Moses to the Monarchy, 300 
to 450 years ; the Three Doubles — Samuel, Kings, and Chroni- 
cles — from the rise of the Jewish monarchy to its fall and the 
Captivity of Judah — 500 years ; and the three Books of the 
Restoration — Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther — about 200 years. 

15. What are the names of the Five Poetical Books f 

Job, the Psalter or the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and 
Canticles, or ''the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's." 

16. How are the seventeen Propheticcd Books divided f 

Into Major (so called because longer), 5, and Minor (so called 
because shorter), 12. 

17. What are the names of the Five Major prophets ? 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. 



114 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

18. WJiat are the names of the Twelve Minor j)rophets ? 

Hosea, Joel, Amos ; Obadiah, Jouah, Micah, Naliuiii ; Hubak- 
kuk, Zephauiah ; Haggai, Zecliariah, and Malaclii. 

19. By what simple device or mnemonic may the names of the 
Minor Prophets be readily recalled f 

By couibiiiing the tirst two letters in the title of each book 
we have the following words, which will suggest the names : 
Ho-jo-am ; Ob-jo-mi-na ; Ha-ze-lia-ze-nia. 

20. 76' not the Old Testament superseded by the Neiv ? 

In so far as the moralit}^ and holiness of the Old Testament 
fall sliort of the requirements of the New, Yes ; but as a por- 
tion of"the liistory of Redemption, as a part of the Sacred Vol- 
ume by which God designs to instruct man, No. The Bible, 
the whole Book of GoD, both Testaments, are fundamental to 
the system of Christianity, as generally held. 

21. Cannot Christianity '■'■ exisV^ without the Old Testament? 

Yes, as a man may exist and get along without ej^es, arms, 
or legs ; but such existence is mutilated, and such a life hardly 
worth living. The Now Testament without the Old Testa- 
ment is a conclusion without a premise, a superstructure with- 
out a foundation, a tree without a root. It is both together 
that make up God's Revelation or message to man. 

22. What is the relation of the Old Testament to the New f 

They are essentially one, though the former is preparat(^ry 
to the latter ; both are so compacted that the latter may be 
said to rest upon the former, the New upon the Old, since the 
Old is replete with typos and shadows which find their fulfil- 
ment in the New. Tlie Old Testament is ^hc New Testament 
concealed, and the New is the Old Testament revealed. 

23. In what respect is the Old Testam>cnt singular ? 

In that it and it alone discloses the providential rule of God 
over nations— how He deals with them as He deals with indi- 
viduals according to their works, allotting thorn their retribu- 
tion in this world, because there can be uo national retribution 
in the world to come. 



THE PENTATEUCH. 115 

24. Would the facts and doctrines of the New Testament he 
unfavorably affected should those of the Old Testament be shown 
to be false or incredible ? 

Yes ; the relations of the two parts of the Sacred Vokime are 
so intimate and vital that they must stand or fall together. 
If the statements of the Old Testament were shown to be false 
or unworthy of belief, the credibility of the New Testament 
would be gone. Hence the efforts of Rationalism and Infidelity 
to destroy the credibility of the Old Testament. 

25. Have the efforts of rationalistic or destructive criticism to 
destroy the credibility and authenticity of the Old Testament 
been crowned with success f 

No; the assaults of infidelity upon the Citadel of Divine 
Truth have served only to call forth a defence so valiant as 
not only to repel the onsets of the enemj^ but to demonstrate 
how Impregnable the Rock of Holy Scripture really is. 

THE PENTATEUCH. 

26. What is the Pentateuch ? • 

The first five Books of Holy Scripture. 

27. Why are these Books so called ? 

Because the word " Pentateuch" means in Greek "the Five 
Volumes," or the Fivefold Work, from penta, five, and tcuchos, 
a roll or volume, and was the name given by the Greek trans- 
lators, the Seventy, to the five books ascribed to Moses. 

28. What name ivas given to those Books by the Jewsf 

By way of eminence and because it is the principal subject 
of the Books, they were called Torah, the Law, or more fully 
the "Five-fifths" of the Law — a single Book being called a 
fifth. It is as the Law that these Books are quoted or referred 
to in subsequent portions of the Sacred Volume. 

29. From what do the Books of Moses take their names ? 

In Hebrew from the first word or words of each Book ; while 
the English names are taken from the Septuagint, and indicate 
in part the subjects of which they treat. 



116 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

30. What addition is the Higher Criticism disposed to make 
to the Pentateuch f 

The Book of Joshua, which it holds was put into its present 
form by the same redactor or editor as compiled the Penta- 
teuch. Hence, it is common now in discussing this matter to 
speak of "The Hexateuch," or Sixfold Work, instead of the 
Pentateuch, or Fivefold Work. 

31. What is the question now respecting the Pentateuch f 

That as to the date and authorship of the Books in the form 
in which we now have them. 

32. How is the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch held ? 

It is recognized as Moses's work by all the historians and 
prophets of the Old Testament ; by the authors of the Apocry- 
phal books ; by profane historians, as Philo and Josephus ; by 
all the New Testament writers ; and expressly and repeatedly 
by the Faithful and True Witness — our Lord Himself. Be- 
sides this united, constant, and invariable ancient testimony, 
the contents of the Books themselves are, it is claimed, evi- 
dence that no known person, save Moses himself, could have 
been their author. 

33. Why is the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch disputed f 

Upon the critical grounds of language and style, and of the 
anachronisms — events out of harmony with their chronologi- 
cal setting — contradictions, and statements disproved by his- 
tory-, which, it is alleged, these Books contain. 

34. Is there any truth in these allegations of the critics f 

Yes ; but nothing which, in the judgment of conservative 
Christian scholarship, warrants inferences so radical, and con- 
clusions so revolutionary, as are insisted upon by the rational- 
istic Higher Criticism of the day. 

35. WJiat are the deductions and conclusions of the Higher 
Criticism respecting the date and authorship of the Pentateuch ? 

While every imaginable difference has prevailed among the 
critics themselves as to these matters, this body of ancient lit- 
erature being assigned to almost as many eras and authorships 



THE PENTATEUCH. 117 

as there have been centuries since Moses was gathered to his 
fathers, they appear, nevertheless, to be pretty generally agreed, 
First, That the Pentateuch is not, and could not be, the work 
of any one man, inspired or otherwise ; Second, That it is a 
composite work, in which many hands have been engaged — a 
production, not contemporaneous with the events described, 
but a gradual growth, extending over many centuries ; and 
Third, That it contains writings as old as the time of Moses, 
and some that are much older. 

36. What are (he various views as to the date and authorship 
of these Books f 

There is the rigidly orthodox view that Moses wrote the 
whole of these Books as we now have them, just as Blackstone 
wrote his Commentaries. This is what is commonly called 
the " traditional" view\ At the opposite extreme there is the 
theory of tlie radical and destructive critics, that Moses wrote 
none of the Books ascribed to him, nor any part of any one of 
them ; that, on the contrary, these Books were not written in 
the time of Moses at all, but were first produced in part about 
730 B.C., and mainly after the Exile, during the Restoration 
period, about 450 B.C.— almost a thousand years after the death 
of Moses ; while between these extremes there is the interme- 
diate view, that the Books in their substance and entirety came 
from the hands of Moses as we now have them, save such addi- 
tions as that where Moses is described as the " meekest of 
men," the account of his death and burial, and such other ad- 
ditions and explanations as fall legitimately within the prov- 
ince of a redactor or editor, who, in this case, was, in all prob- 
ability, Ezra, who " was a ready scribe (authority or expert) in 
the Law of Moses" (Ezra vii. 6) ; while still another opinion 
which obtains in high critical circles is, that though the entire 
Pentateuch in its present form is not the work of Moses, and 
though many laws are the product of a later age, still the leg- 
islation, in its spirit and character, is genuinely Mosaic. 

37. Which of these views seems the most probable ? 

That which seems most in harmony with the facts is the 
intermediate view ; while the latter is by no means unreason- 
able, butj on the contrary, has much in it to commend it to 
the sober judgment of thinking men. 



118 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

38. What absurdities would the extreme view force iqion us? 

To suppose that the Pentateuchal literature and legislation 
were produced in Palestine shortly before and after the Exile, 
and palmed off upon the Jews as a pious fraud, would compel 
us to conclude that Moses himself was the primeval forger, and 
every subsequent assumed or conjectured writer in his name 
was a double forger, an inventor of lies, and of the name and 
inspiration of Moses to account for them and to give them cur- 
rency ! that Israel lived on for 900 years— from the Exodus to 
the Exile— and transmitted a peculiar faith, law, ritual, and 
nationality, without any legislative and constitutional sj^stem 
to uphold any one of them ! 

39. What ivoidd be the effect of the adoption of the deduc- 
tions of the destructive criticism touching the Pentateuch f 

To divest tliem of an historical, and to invest them witli a 
legendary character, and as a consequence to rob them of all 
Divine autliority, and to render them utterly worthless as an 
arbiter in religion, in matters of faith and practice. 

40. Wlicd confticting views are held as to the endorsement of 
the Old Testament Books by our Lord and His Ajiostlesf 

First : The Orthodox view, which is that the New Testament 
use of the Old Testament Scriptures is an endorsement of the 
current traditional opinion as to their authorship not only, but 
also that they are inerrantand infallible both in substance and 
detail ; and, Second, the view of the more conservative of the 
higher critics, which dissents from the orthodox opinion, and 
holds that our Lord nowhere, for instance, testifies that Moses 
wrote the whole of the Pentateuch, and nowhere guarantees 
the infallibility of Moses or the inerrancy either of the Penta- 
teuch or other of the Old Testament Scriptures. On the con- 
trary, in His Sermon on the Mount, not regarding them as 
furnishing a safe rule of conduct for His disciples, He specifi- 
cally sets aside as inadecpiate or morally defective certain laws 
which in the Pentateuch are ascribed to Moses. 

41. What e-<timate do thoxe who hold to its errancy and falli/- 
bility place upon the Bible? 

They, too, prize it highly as the Book of books. For while 
they do not look upon it as infallible either historically, scien- 



I 



THE PENTATEUCH. 119 

tifically, or even morally — portions of it involving an imper- 
fect morality — they do, nevertheless, set the highest possible 
estimate upon it as the Book of Righteousness, as the Record 
of the Development of the Kingdom of Righteousness in the 
world. To them it is a Book of Inspiration, because it is the 
record of an inspired or Divinely guided development ; a Book 
whose value and greatness and glory consists in the Wondrous 
Life that it discloses to us. In their view, too, it is upon Jesus 
that the whole Bible turns. And to this great truth, at least, 
we can all subscribe. 

42. How does Genesis differ from the other Books of Moses ? 

The latter contain the record of events which took place 
mainly during the lifetime of Moses, and of the most of which 
he might have had personal knowledge. The story of Genesis, 
on the contrary, goes back to a remote antiquity — back into 
the shadows of prehistoric ages. 

43. What are the i^osslblc sources of these jjrehistorie facts ? 

These are three, and only three : They might have been 
given to Moses (1) by direct Revelation from God ; or (2) by 
Tradition ; or (3) by means of Historical Documents written 
long before the time of Moses. 

44. To which of these sources ivas the Pentateuchal historian 
indebted for its pre-Mosaic material f 

Until within a comparatively recent date the First of these 
sources — Revelation— was commonly considered as the origin 
of the story of Genesis. This is the rabbinical — the tradi- 
tional or orthodox — theory, which, while entirely possible, is 
not believed to be necessary, and therefore not the true one. 
The Second conjecture, that of tradition, is plausible, but not 
probable, the form of the Genesis narrative showing that it 
must have had another origin. The Third theory is now the 
generally accepted one, that the story in Genesis was composed 
from written documents, of whose origin and antiquity we have 
no knowledge, but which may have been contemporaneous with 
the events they describe. Traces of difterent documents are also 
found in the other Books of the Pentateuch, and in Joshua as 
well, hence the Hexateuch. This much the Higher Criticism, 
after a prolonged and profound study and literary analysis of 



120 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

these Books by the greatest critics of tlie age, appears to have 
established beyond a reasonable doubt. There are, indeed, a 
few professional scholars who hold to the traditional opinion, 
but these are in a hopeless minority. The trend of the critical 
and Christian scholarship of the world to-day is to the Docu- 
mentary theory of the origin of the Pentateuch. 

45. Does not this theory conflict with the idea of inspiration f 

By no ineans. It only goes to prove that Moses was not the 
first inspired man in the world (Luke i. 70). The authors of 
these original documents were as truly under the guidance of 
the Holy Spirit as was Moses himself. And since God works 
by means, never resorting to the Supernatural unless when 
absolutely necessary, it was the duty of the Pentateuchal his- 
torian to make use of all such reliable material as was within 
his reach, as did Luke (i. 1) and the other sacred writers. 

46. How did the sacred penman come by the Creation Story f 

DifTerent from all the rest of Genesis, which is wholly his- 
torical, this account of Creation must have been given by direct 
Revelation, whether to Moses or to the author of an original 
document. The Creation Story is pure apocalypse. 

47. How may the statements of Moses be shown to be true f 

By four classes of testimony : (1) By the tradition of ancient 
uations; (2) by the facts of history; (3) by the facts of Eth- 
nography in its tluvofold division, philological, physiological, 
and ethical ; and (4) by the facts of geology in so far as these 
have been clearly ascertained. 

48. What is the value of tradition as evidence ? 

Tradition, whether oral or written, when reasonable, and 
not contradicted by well-authenticated testimony from other 
sources, is as valuable as any other kind of testimony. 

49. ^V}lat new kind of testimony to the truthfulness of the 
Mosaic record has sprung up in our day ? 

Egyptology. Statements as to Egyptian customs and man- 
ners which have hitherto been doubted or denied, are confirmed 
by the discovery of ancient Egyptian monuments and sculp- 
tures of various kinds. The very bricks dug out of the an- 



GENESIS. 121 

cient ruins, and the old Pharaohs from their sphinx-guarded 
sepulchres totter into court to, bear testimony to the correct- 
ness of the averments of the Sacred Volume. 



GENESIS. 

1. Why is this first Book of the Bible called Genesis ? 

Genesis means origin, the beginning of anything ; and Gen- 
esis is the Book of Origins, the Beginnings of Everything. In 
it all things material or moral are traced to their source or 
origin, even to Jehovah Himself, Who is without beginning, 
but from everlasting to everlasting God. p 

2. What is the relation of Genesis to the rest of the Bible ? 

It is the stately portal to the superb structure — the glorious 
Temple of Holy Scripture. It is the foreground of the entire 
Book, the necessary introduction and key to the whole Bible. 
Genesis at the opening accounts for all that follows. 

3. What would be the effect of the overthrow of Genesh ? 

The destruction of the whole Scriptures, Old and New. Gen- 
esis undermined, the entire Temple of Revelation from Exodus 
to the Apocalypse lies in ruins. Genesis overthrown, and 
Christ as well as Matthew, John, and Paul, and all believers 
and witnesses before and since, are found false witnesses for 
God, and, with His Word, have perished ; and all preaching 
would be vain, and faith impossible ! 

4. How has Genesis withstood the assaults of infidelity ? 

The flag of truth still waves triumphant over its citadel ; its 
walls of solid fact remain unsealed, and, though severely bat- 
tered, unbroken ; while every new attack only serves to call 
forth unexpected reinforcements and unlooked-for allies for its 
defence. Genesis is the Gibraltar of Revelation, impregnable 
against every assault, from whatever quarter it comes. 

5. What period of time is covered by the Book of Genesis? 

Of the 2500 years embraced by the entire Pentateuch, Gene- 
sis covers all but about two centuries, or a period of some 2300 
years — from the Creation of Adam to the death of Joseph. 



122 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

6. How does the Book of Genesis begin and end f 

It opens sublimelj'^ with " In the beghining God," and closes 
sadly with " a coffin in Egypt !" — a suggestive picture of hu- 
man life, or the world in which we live. 

7. Is the end of Genesis recdly the end? Is there nothing 
beyond the coffin in Egypt f 

So far as this world is concerned, Yes, it is the end ; but so 
far as Faith is concerned, No, it is but the End of the Begin- 
ning. Beyond the coffin in Egypt, the end of Genesis, is the 
Exodus, a grander Deliverance than Israel knew, a Prophet 
greater than Moses, a Leader mightier than Joshua, a King 
nobler than David and Solomon, a possession indnitely richer 
than tlie liand of Promise, a hope full of immortality, an 
Apocalypse of glory transcending tlie power of human lan- 
guage to express or even the imagination to conceive. 

8. What is the historical value of the Book of Genesis 9 

It is the foundation of all history. It contains the only 
authentic account of Creation and the apostasy of man ; we 
are indebted to the Tenth Chapter for all we know of the 
Origin of Nations, and to the Eleventh Chapter for our only 
account of the Linguistic phenomenon the race presents, 
which was originally of **one language and one speech." 

GENESIS PROPER. 

9. What is a peculiarity of Gcnesvi as a book? 

It contains a Genesis within a Genesis — a Genesis Proper, 
and a Larger Genesis. 

10. What is the Genesis Proper— the sliorter Genesis? 

That portion of the Book contained in the 1st chapter and 
the tirst three verses of the 2d chapter, which ought by all 
means to have been included in tlie former. 

11. How does Genesis Proper differ from the Larger Genesis? 

In at least two, if not three, important respects — in its 
Form, Scope, and, possibly, Duration. While the Book of 



GENESIS. 123 

Genesis as a whole is historical in form, this Genesis Proper is 
evidently apocalyptiG — a matter of pure revelation ; while 
other portions of the Book are limited to well-defined periods 
of time, this is dateless ; while the events in the remainder of 
the Book are fixed by well-understood chronological measure- 
ments, those in the Genesis Proper may not be subject to any 
such restriction, allowing the "days" referred to to be practi- 
cally measureless eras. The Larger Genesis is the unfolding or 
development of Genesis Proper. 

12. What are the three great subjects of the Genesis Proper f 
God, Nature, Man. 

13. What does this apocalypse reveal to us about God ? 

The existence of God as opposed to atheism ; the unity of 
God as against the polytheism of the heathen world ; and the 
personality of God as against all pantheistic notions of Deity ; 
and the supremacy of Jehovah as " God over all." 

14. Hoiu do the statem,ents of this apocalypse harm^onize with 
the facts of modern science touching Nature — the Cosmos? 

Tlie two are in complete harmony when both are properly 
understood, and facts and not theories taken into the account. 

15. What are the chief sources of difficulty on this subject ? 

Three ; and for none of them is the Bible in its original ex- 
pression to blame : (1) treating the passage as if it were history, 
whereas it is apocalypse — revelation ; (2) t^J^ng it as though 
it were intended to teach science, especially astronomical and 
geological science ; (3) the mistakes of the translators of the 
authorized or King James' Version of the Holy Scriptures, 
as, for instance, when they use the word " firmament," some- 
thing strong, solid, to translate a word which means some- 
thing very thin, extended, as the atmosphere, to which Moses 
refers. 

16. }Vhat does this Genesis reveal to us about Man ? 

It shows us his true place in nature, that while he is not 
altogether separated from the animals below him, he is also 



124 THE TEMPLE OPENED, 

intimately related to God above him. He is seen here in his 
heavenly rather than his earthly relations. 

DIVISIONS. 

17. How may Genesis as a Book be divided ? 

Into two parts : (1) Before the Flood (i.-viii.) ; (2) after the 
Flood (ix.-l.) ; or (1) the part Antediluvian, and (2) the part 
Post-diluvian. 

18. What are the principal topics of the Book so divided ? 

In the first part we have the Story of Creation (Genesis 
Proper), the Story of the Fall, and the Story of the Deluge. 
In the second part we have Noah's Prophecy (ix. 25-29), The 
Great World Register (x.), the Story of Babel or the Dispersion 
(xL), and the Story of Abraham and his family till the third 
generation (xii.-l.). 

19. What is the relative amount of space devoted to each of 
these various tojjics ? 

In the Genesis Proper the whole great subject of Creation 
is disposed of in a single chapter. In the Larger Genesis the 
Fall and the promised Redemption occupies but a single chap- 
ter, the history of the Deluge but three chapters, the general 
history of the race for 400 years after the Flood only four chap- 
ters ; while the history of Abraham and his descendants for less 
300 years takes up all the remainder of the Book, or thirty- 
nine chapters — most of them much longer, too, than those in 
the earlier part of the Book. In other words, the liistory of 
Abraham and his descendants till Joseph occupies three-fourths 
of the entire Book ; while the record of all the other previous 
great events, covering a period of at least 2000 (historical) 
years, is compressed into a space only one-fourth as long. 

20. What is the ex^jlanation of this i^elatiue fulness and brevity 
of the sacred narrative ? 

The Bible is not designed to teach science or general history, 
but spiritual, religious truth. It is an inspired history of re- 
ligion for practical ends, and of other things only incidentally, 
as it is affected by them. This ought constantly to be borne 
in mind in the study of the Word. 



GENESIS. 125 

21. "NTiat additional truths is it important to remember in the 
perusal of the Sacred Record f 

That it is God as holy in relation to man as a sinner, and 
God and man in relation to Christ as Redeemer, which con- 
stitute the great theme of Scripture, and that what is told us 
has reference to such Beings. 

ANTEDILUVIAN. 

22. WJiat are the two existing institutions of whose origin we 
have an account in the opening chapters of Genesis f 

The Sabbath and Marriage. These two institutions, so vital 
to the existence and welfare of society, are coeval with the 
race, and are Divine gifts to mankind — gifts of the universal 
Father to His dependent offspring. 

23. Is the story of the Fall allegory or veritable history 9 

History, undoubtedly ; but the distinction should be care- 
fully made between the reality of the history, and the literality 
of it, between the letter and the spirit, between the shell and 
the kernel of truth which the shell of the letter contains. 
Nine-tenths of the difficulties which people have on this sub- 
ject arise from their failure to make this necessary distinction. 

24. How are ice to account for the differences between the ac- 
counts of the Creation in Genesis Proper and in the Book of the 
Generations ii. 4-25 ? 

In the Genesis God is represented simply as Creator, while 
in the Book of the Generations He appears as Redeemer ; 
hence His new name, Jehovah-God. In the Genesis Nature 
is universal nature, while in the Generations — the historical 
outcome or development— nature is limited to that portion of 
it which has to do with Adam— viz., Eden — the Hebrew word 
for earth, and land, and district being the same. In the Gen- 
esis, Nature is the great theme. In the Generations, Man is 
the great theme, and consequently^ Nature is treated of only as 
it circles round him, and is related to him ; while man him- 
self is, in the Generations, presented in his lower rather than 
his higher, his earthly rather than his heavenly, relations, as 
in the Genesis. There is no repetition here. 



126 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

25. }V7iat great contrast is there hetiveen the Genesis and the 
Generations— betiveen the first and the following chapters of the 
Book of Genesis f 

In the first, as a glad refrain, tlie word good, good, good, 
rings all the way through it ; while in the Generations, the 
historical development, evil looms up dark and terrible, pre- 
senting a sad contrast with the record in the Genesis. 

26. What great lesson should toe learn from this contrast be- 
tween the Genesis and the historical Development f 

That, the views of many philosophers and religionists to the 
contrary notwithstanding, all matter, all nature, all the works 
of God are Good, and Sin alone is Evil. 

THE TWO LINES. 

27. Into how many lines were the antediluvians divided ? 
Two — the Cainites and the Sethites. 

28. How does the histOT^n treat these two lines respectively ? 

Of the Cainites he gives us only a brief genealogical list (iv. 
17-22)— the bare names of the heads of some generations, not 
even telling so much as the term of life of any of them. In 
the genealogy of the line of Seth, on the contrary, the persons 
acquire distinct individuality. Not only the names are given, 
but how old they were when favored with a son, how long 
they lived after, and what was the sum of their age. 

29. 7b what is this difference in treatment due? 

To the fact that the Bible is a history of Redemption ; hence 
the Cainites, being irreligious and worldly, are passed over with 
the briefest possible notice ; while the Sethites, possessing a 
religious character, as the line of Salvation, and as being the 
basis of chronology — the only chronology we know — and his- 
tory, are dwelt upon at length, as of the greater moment. 

30. What facts do these tables furnish in solving the problem 
of communication between Adam and Noah f 

Noah was contemporary, with all of the Antediluvian patri- 
archs, except Adam and his son Seth. Adam lived until 



GENESIS. " 127 

Noah's grandfather, Methuselah, was 248 years old, and La- 
niech, his father, 56 ; and as the former lived till the very year 
of the Deluge, and the latter died only five years prior to that 
event, Noah could have enjoyed the privilege of hearing each 
of these recount wliat they themselv^es had heard from the 
lips of Adam and Eve concerning their early history. 

31. How does the history dispi-'ove the theory that man ad- 
vanced progressively from a savage state to that of civilization? 

(1) By the fact that immediately upon his expulsion from the 
Garden, Adam entered on the pursuit of agriculture (iii. 23), an 
employment not favorite with savages, and one demanding a 
fixed residence ; (2) by the fact that the first Born man, Cain, 
built a city (iv. 17)— such a clustering together of fixed habi- 
tations as indicate the higher condition of social being ; (3) by 
the additional fact that the rude tent, pertaining specially to 
the roving savage mode of life, came after the city by some 
1300 years (iv. 20). Hence we are warranted in concluding that 
houses preceded tents ; towns and cities went before encamp- 
ments ; the settled was anterior to the wandering and nomadic 
life, and the civilized before the savage state. 

32. With -what does the sacred historian credit the Cainites ? 

As being the inventors or special pronaoters of the arts and 
manufactures. They were the Edisons, the Morses, and the 
Wattses of their time. 

33. What does the history of Lamech^s family teach us? 

That civilization, contrary to the old heathen notion, is a 
human development, and that civilization, good as it is, im- 
portant and valuable as it is, does not meet the wants of man 
as a Sinner. It is no antidote to sin. As the great rival of 
Salvation, Civilization is a dismal failure. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

34. Who ivere the persons referred, to in vi. 2? 

"The Sons of God" were undoubtedly the posterity of Seth 
— the branch of the antediluvian family in which religion was 
kept alive ; and "the daughters of men" were as certainly the 
descendants of Cain, at once both irreligious and unbelieving. 



128 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

35. WTio were " the giants''' of vi. 4? 

Not men of vast stature, as the English word signifies, but 
men of violence, men who beat down, oppressed, and plundered 
the weak and defenceless, as the Hebrew word indicates. 

36. What is meant bij the phrase (iv. 26), '■''then began men 
to call iqjon the name of the Lord" ? 

The phrase is susceptible of two directly opposite meanings, 
one being that it refers to a "revival" of religion, and the 
other that it marks the era of the formal introduction of idol- 
atrous practices among men, when the name of Jehovah was 
profaned by being impiously given unto creatures, as the sun 
and other heavenly bodies. This latter interpretation, in view 
of all the circumstances. Is most likely the correct one, and is 
adopted by many learned men, both Jews and Gentiles. 

37. To what luas the frightful wickedness and corruption of 
the antediluvian ^uorld due? 

To human depravity in general, and mixed marriages and 
the crowding together of the people in compact masses, as in 
the cities, in particular. The former was the remote, the latter 
the proximate and efficient causes. 

38. What is repentance on the part of Jehovah ? 

When, in vi. 6, it is said that " it repented the Lord that He 
had made man," it is meant simply to set forth the actual feel- 
ing man's failure to respond to the Divine benevolence occa- 
sioned in the Most High, and the reason for the change in the 
Divine government man's wickedness rendered necessary. It 
does not imply any change of plan on the part of God, for 
man's failure was anticipated in the Divine program. 

39. Who are the best known antediluvians f 

Males : Adam the First, Cain the Fratricide, Abel the Mar- 
tyr, Seth the Substitute, Lamech the Bigamist, Enoch the 
Holy, Methuselah the Millenary, and Noah the Righteous. 
Females : Eve the Maternal, Adah and Zillah the wives of 
Lamech the Cainite, and Naamah the daughter of Zillah. 
These four are the only females of the antediluvian era whose 
names appear in the sacred record. 



GENESIS. 129 

40. How may the Genesis (i. 2-4), the Generations (ii. 5-26), 
and the Register of v. be briefly characterized 9 

The first is a Diary, the second a History, and the third a 
Genealogy. 

41 . What is the scope of this ^ethite genealogy ? 

To mark out the Line of Faith and Hope and Holiness from. 
Adam, the first head of the race, to Noah, who became the 
second head of the liiiman family 

42. Why is it that, though not the eldest of JSfoah^s soiis, Shem 
is always first named in the history ? 

Because tlie genealogies and the chronology are kept up in 
his line, and the principal parts of the sacred history relate to 
his descendants. For a kindred reason, also, Ham, though the 
youngest, is always named next to Shem. The order of birth 
is Japheth, Shem, Ham. 

THE DELUGE. 

43. What was the population of the globe at the Flood 9 

This, of course, can only be a matter of conjecture, but it is 
certain that the inhabitants of tliis planet must have become 
immensely numerous during the centuries immediately pre- 
ceding the Flood. Some conservative calculators and stat- 
isticians go so far as to affirm that the population at the Flood 
was hardly less than that of the globe at the present time. 
This, however, seems hardly credible. 

44. What was the cause of the Flood ? 

The superabounding, incurable, and unendurable wicked- 
ness of the race. The earth (land) was filled with violence. 

45. What was the extent of the Flood ? 

Whether it was universal, covering the whole of the earth's 
surface, or was partial, being confined to a limited area, — the 
region inhabited by man,. — is still an open question, able advo- 
cates appearing, and weighty arguments being presented, in 
favor of either theory. The preponderance of evidence, how- 
ever, appears to be in favor of the theory of its universality. 



130 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

46. To what extent did mankind suffer by the Flood ? 

It was universal as to man, the entire vast population being 
swept from the face of the earth, eight souls only being saved 
from the common ruin — Noali and his wife, and his three sons 
and their wives. 

47. Why was the irrational creation involved in the common 
ruin, though not partakers in the sin ? 

Because, being made for man's use and as a kind of appen- 
dage to him, the animal tribes were involved in his calamities. 
Man's sin brings ruin upon his comforts even as on himself. 

48. How long did the Flood last f 

From the time Noah and his family entered the ark until 
they made their egress from it, there was an interval of 365 
days, or, as nearly as possible, a single solar year. 

49. What was the shape and size of Noah's ark .? 

Barge-like, being intended simply to float rather than to sail, 
its shape was that of a parallelogram. In size it was 300 cubits 
long, by 50 wide, and 80 high. Tlie length of the cubit, how- 
ever, being unknown, it is impossil)le to tell with definiteness 
the dimensions of the craft. The Great Eastern of tliat time, 
Noah's ark was beyond all question, however, the largest float- 
ing edifice ever borne upon the waters, with ample capacity for 
all the demands the Scripture narrative makes upon it. 

50. What has the Ark been used to illustrate f 

The great salvation. Noah and his familj^ were saved by the 
same element by wiiich the rest of mankind perished. And so 
it is with the Gospel, which is a savor of life to some, while it 
is a savor of deatli unto others. 

51. To what agencies or causes ivas the Deluge due? 

The event being ^tY\ci\y punitive in its purpose — possessing 
the characterof a J^d/c/a^ injiict ion— it is reasonable to suppose 
that its punitive character should not entirely be wrapped up 
and hid in the operation of natural agencies, or secondary 
causes. And such supposition is borne out by the record, which 
plainly shows the immediate Divine interposition in the event 



GENESIS. 131 

both as to its purpose and execution. Hence the answer to the 
question is, that the great cataclysm was brought about by the 
blending of preternatural agency with the operation of natural 
causes— these latter being the instrumentalities in the hands 
of God in accomplishing His purpose. 

52. 76' there any evidence other than the Genesis narrative that 
such an event as the Noachian Deluge did take place f 

Yes ; there is evidence of a fourfold character : (1) Tradi- 
tional — legends of a deluge being found everj'-where, east and 
west, north and south ; in savage nations and civilized na- 
tions ; on continents and islands ; in the Old World and in 
the New. (2) Mythological — memorials of this event being 
wrought into the very structure of Heathenism. (3) Medallic, 
and (4) Monumental — the famous Apamean medals (found in 
1696), and the Druidical monuments (Kistvaens) alike bearing 
testimony to this occurrence. 

53. Does geology bear no testimony to the Deluge ? 

None ; although it was long the common opinion that all 
the geological changes which appear to have taken place in 
the earth's crust were produced by that mighty cataclysm, it 
is the conclusion of the most celebrated geologists of the pres- 
ent day that there are no physical phenomena or appearances 
beneath or upon the earth's surface concerning which it can 
with absolute certainty be affirmed : These are the effects of 
the Flood ; these are determinate proofs of its occurrence. The 
formation of the earth's fossiliferous strata requires a much 
longer time than, and agencies widely different from, and a 
period long anterior to, those described in the Genesis story. 

54. Hoiu^ then^ are the physical phenomena which the earth^s 
crust reveals accounted for f 

These were produced long anterior to the appearance of man 
upon tlie globe, during those measureless eras when those 
mighty physical changes were taking place, by which the 
earth was prepared for the habitation of its human tenantry. 

55. What light does this theory throw on the Creation Story ? 

It dissipates all semblance of collision between Genesis and 
Geology — between the testimony of the Rocks and that of 



132 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Revelation — in regard to the age of our world— the globe on 
which we dwell, — and it admits of the Creative Week being 
composed of six ordinary solar days, instead of measureless 
epochs or eras— the ordinary day being all-sufficient for the 
various processes the apocalyptic record calls for. 

56. Does geology present any evidence against the trustworthi- 
ness of the Flood Story ? 

No. On the other hand, geology admits that in the elevation 
and subsidence of mountains and continents, and in volcanic 
agency generally, of which geology contains so many exam- 
ples, we have an adequate cause for extensive, if not universal, 
deluges ; nor can she say how recently this cause may have 
operated beneath certain oceans, sufficiently to have produced 
the Deluge of Noah. So that we have in geology a presump- 
tion in favor of, rather than against, such an occurrence. 

57. Where did the ark rest ? 

Not on the summits or inaccessible peaks of Mount Ararat, 
as the tradition, not the Scripture, is, but on the highlands of 
the general region known in Old Testament times as Ararat. 
The peaks of Ararat are tremendous mountain pyramids whose 
ascent is all but impossible — more difficult and dangerous even 
than the Matterhorn of the Alps. 

58. Is the objection to the fact of the Flood on the ground of 
the unwarrantable severity of the judgment well founded f 

No. The broad besom of Omnipotence did not sweep the 
world of its entire living tenantry, causelessly, wantonly. 
The reason assigned (vi. 5-7 and 11-18) justified even this ex- 
treme mark of the Divine displeasure. Cavillers at the severity 
of the judgment are wilfully blind to its provocation, as well 
as forgetful of the earnest efforts Jehovah made to avert it. 
The race, however, proved incorrigible, and the blow had to 
fall. Sin and unbelief will surely bring their punishment. 

59. Wliat is the answer to the cavil about the destruction of 
the children — the innocent with the guilty? 

Besides the Sovereign prerogative of Jehovah, which He 
always exercises in the disposal of the lives of His creatures, 
nowhere is the Benevolence of God more clearly seen than in 



GENESIS. 133 

the death of children. Those antediluvian children especially 
were very kindly dealt with in being exalted to the Divine 
abode, in lieu of being left to grow up under deleterious and 
ruinous parental and social influences, such as those under 
which they would have risen up from childhood to maturity, 
had no deluge occurred. 

60. Why did not Jehovah make a full end of the guilty race 
and start in afresh with a new creation f 

It was not the Divine plan. The Lord had early committed 
Himself against this course. The fulfilment of the First 
Promise (iii. 15) forbade the destruction of the entire human 
race. The purposed manifestation of certain features of His 
own infinitely glorious character, moreover, would preclude it. 
Neither in our first nor second father's time would Jehovah 
suffer Satan utterly to defeat His great end in bringing into 
existence the human family. The Evil One must be met and 
overcome on the ground of his own choosing. 

POST-DILUVIAN. 

61. What ivas NoaNs first act upon his egress from, the ark f 

An act of Piety, by which he rendered adoration, as well as 
expressed his grateful acknowledgments, unto the Most High 
for His signal benefactions ; devoted himself and his house- 
hold renewedly to His service ; and sought protection and 
blessing further for him and his amidst the*desolations which 
surrounded them, and, as we may believe, on his posterity, in 
all its anticipated ramifications, in all coming time. 

62. How did the Most High show His approval of Noah''s 
act f 

He bestowed upon the patriarch and his familj^ His bene- 
diction, commissioned them to repopulate the earth, pledged 
Himself not to repeat on so great a scale the Deluge, and, as 
a means of sustenance, in addition to the original grant of 
vegetable food (i. 29), gave them the right to the use of animal 
food (ix. 2, 3). 

63. Why the prohibition as to the use of Blood zn ix. 4? 

For at least a twofold reason : (1) to prevent the cruel practice 
of vivisection — the eating of parts of animals still living— and 



134: THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

(2) because the Blood of the Great Sacrifice was prefigured by 
the blood of the animal sacrifices (Levit. xvii. 10, 11). 

64. What solemn ordinance f or the better preservation of hu- 
man life did the Most High now institute f 

The statutory death penalty (ix. 5, 6) — a Divine enactment 
which has never been abrogated or repealed. 

65. What great lesson did God's delegation to man, of author- 
it r/ to 2>unish the mjurderer by death, teach the nations? 

That the institution of civil government is from God, and 
clearly points out the accountability of all governments to God 
for all tlie powers they hold, and for the mode in which they 
are exercised. 

NOAH— ABRAHAM. 

66. Of what period does this section treat ? 

The third period of probation, or the third dispensation, in 
which God deals with all mankind. 

67. What are these three dispensations f 

The first is where God deals with our first parents, Adam 
and Eve ; the second where God deals with all mankind dur- 
ing the sixteen centuries of antediluvian historj^ ; and this 
third dispensation in which God deals again in mercy with 
all mankind from the Flood to the calling of Abraham— a 
period, according to the Shorter Chronology, of 428 years. 

68. What were the distinctive features of these dis2yensations f 

Trial and failure on the part of man, and judgment with 
mercy on the part of God, the latter appearing in the first in- 
stance in the promised deliverance (iii. 15) ; in the second, in 
the sparing of Noah and his family, with the promise never 
again to repeat so universal a destruction (ix. 11) ; and in the 
third instan(^e, in the Call of Abraham. 

69. What were the symbols of these three dispensations f 

In the first, the Tree of Life ; in the second, the Cherubim 
and the Flaming Sword ; and in the third, the Rainbow. 



t 



GENESIS. 135 

70. What distinct tojjics are treated in this section 9 

Seven : (1) the Unity of the human race (ix. 19) ; (2) Noah's 
Sin (ix. 20-23) ; (3) Noah's Prophecy (ix. 24-27) ; (4) Noah's Age 
(ix. 28, 29) ; (5) the Register of the Nations (x.) ; (6) the 
Confusion of Tongues and consequent Dispersion of the Peo- 
ple (xi. 1-9) ; and (7) tlie Genealogy of Slieni down to Abra- 
ham (xi. 10-26). 

UNITY OF THE RACE. 

71. Has the unity of the race been called in question ? 

Yes ; the physical and linguistic differences which exist 
among men are held by unbelieving science to be in clear con- 
tradiction of Moses in this place, and of Paul in his address on 
Mar's Hill (Acts xvii. 26) to the same intent. 

72 How is the sacred record shown to be correct ? 

By the facts brought to light by a scientific study of Com- 
parative Physiology, Comparative Philology, and Ethnogra- 
phy, together with the wide-spread and universal traditions 
of the Deluge among the races of mankind. 

73. Hoiv can the early existence^ soon after the Flood, of the 
leading varieties in the human kind be accounted for ? 

, By a, preternaiurcd intensifj'ing of prime physical suscepti- 
bilities ; a thing which may have occurred at the era of God's 
giving directions to Noah respecting the partition of the earth 
among his descendants, or, sjmehronally, at the same time, 
with the miraculous Confusion of Tongues at Babel — a circum- 
stance which would the more effectually aid in accomplishing 
the Divine purpose of the Dispersion of the people. 

74. Has the comparatively recent appearance of man upon 
the earth been called in question ? 

Yes ; the wildest theories as to the antiquity of man have in 
recent times been advocated by infidelity, in utter variance 
with the requirements of Bible history, based upon the alleged 
existence of nations, as the Chaldeans, Chinese, Hindoos, and 
especially the Egyptians, of higher antiquity than the days of 
Noah, from whose descendants Moses declares the whole earth 
was over-spread (ix. 19 ; x. 32, xi. 9). 



136 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

75. Are the claims of the antiquarians sustained by the facts ? 

No ; the only reliable history of the rise of the nations of 
remotest antiquity is found in Chapter Ten of this Book of 
Genesis ; while the high antiquity claimed for the nations 
referred to has been proved to be purely mythological and 
fabulous. Even the geological argument, which was the 
stronghold of the extreme antiquarians, now points to the 
comparatively recent appearance of man upon the earth. 



NOAH'S SIN. 

76. When did the humiliating incident o/ix. 20-23 take place f 

All the children of Ham being born after the egress from 
the ark, it is plain that the sin of Noah and the unfllial con- 
duct of his son Ham (Canaan being Hani's fourth son, x. 6) 
cannot well be assigned an earlier period than twenty or 
thirty years after the Flood. 

77. Can Noah be justly charged with being a drunkard f 

No ; even on the supposition that the Patriarch was aware 
of the intoxicating property of the wine which he drank, 
which is quite doubtful, this single instance is the only slip in 
this direction he ever made, so far as the sacred record goes. 

78. ^Vhat are the moral uses of this record f 

It serves to enhance our confidence in the unswerving veracity 
of the sacred liistorian, as well as our idea of the eminent ex- 
cellency of Noah's character in general, tliis being the only 
faulty deed laid to his charge ; while, at the same time, it serves 
also as a needed explanation of the prophecy that follows. 

79. Is there any necessary connection^ as scoffers allege, between 
Noah's ivine-drinking and his prophesying '? 

No ; for though the narrative of the two things are put by 
the historian in remarkable juxtaposition, yet this may have 
been the result solely of desire with the narrator to consult 
brevity, and not at all from proximity as to time in the occur- 
rence of the two, as in other instances in sacred history. The 
two things, therefore, may not have been at all synchronous. 



GENESIS. 137 

NOAH'S PROPHECY. 

80. What was the character of Noah^s prophecy f 

It was not the expression of his personal feeUng — the ebuUi- 
tion of one waking out of a drunken stupor, as scoffers allege — 
but the utterance of a man inspired by the Holy Spirit, all 
subsequent history being a complete fulfilment and verifica- 
tion of this germinal prophecy — the most complete outline of 
the future of the three great races that could possibly have 
been drawn. This patriarchal prophecy has a peculiar interest 
as the first prophetic utterance of man in the sacred record. 

81. Is there any coincidence between the names of Noah''s 
sons and the prophecy touching each of them respectively f 

Yes ; their very names are j^regnant with prophetic signifi- 
cance. Shem means name, as if pointing to some marked dis- 
tinction over his bretliren ; Ham denotes heat, as if indicating 
the climatic localitj'^ to be occupied by his posterity ; and the 
import of Japheth is enlargement, as if betokening the increase, 
spread, and prosperity of his ofFsi)ring. 

82. Did history flow in the line of the fulfilment of Noah^s 
prophecy ? 

At first everything seemed to conflict with the prediction. 
Hamites were the founders of tlie first two great empires, 
world-monarchies, or tyrannies that were established on earth 
—Assyria and Egypt (x. 6-13). By and by, however, the scep- 
tre passed entirely away from Ham, and came first into the 
hands of Japheth . The Hamitic nations, as time passed, became 
degraded, many of them in servitude, and none of them cut 
any figure in the world's history, after but a few centuries. 

83. What, according to this remarkable prediction, is the 
basis of the great difference in the destinies of these three great 
branches of the Noachic family ? 

Their relation to God. Hence the chief distinction of Shem. 
In his posterity is included the select family who know God 
as the Lord, the God of promise, of mercy, and salvation. 
His portion is the knowledge of the One Living and True God. 
In his line was the original Monotheism faithfully preserved, 



138 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

and through him the Messiah came. ''Blessed be Jehovah, 
GoDofShem!" 

NOAH'S AGE. 

84. How old was Noah when he departed this life f 

He had attained to the age of 950 j^ears (ix. 29), being tlie 
second oldest man that ever lived, lacking but 19 years of be- 
ing as old as his grandfather Metliusehili, and being 20 years 
older than the first head of the human family. Adam was 
only 930 years when he died. 

85. How can the longevifi/ of Noah be accounted for? 

Six hundred years, or about two-thirds of his entire life, were 
spent as an antediluvian in the Old World, and his longiseval 
constitution is no doubt due to the fact that he brought it from 
beyond the Flood. No one beside who has died since the Del- 
uge attained to near so great an age as he. 

THE WORLD REGISTER. 

86. Of ivhat special value and importance are x. and xi. ? 

Brief and fragmentary as they are, hardly more than lists 
of names, they are of the highest possible historical and scien- 
tific value and importance, containing, as they do, the only 
authentic record and explanation in existence of the rise and 
cause of the linguistic and ethnic phenomena our race pre- 
sents — of the various languages and nations of the earth. 

87. What are the attributes of a nation as indicated in x. 5? 

These are four: (1) a nation is descended from one head ; 
(2) has a country which it calls its own ; (3) has its own lan- 
guage ; and (4) is composed of many " families," clans, or tribes. 

88. What stock objection has infidelity found in x. 8-10, and 
how has it been met f 

In these verses Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, is set before us 
as the founder of the first kingdom in the Euphrates valley ; 
but, according to our historical records, there was a Semitic 
people there all the while, so that between the sacred and profane 
history there appeared to be a palpable contradiction. Recent 



GENESIS. 139 

researches by Sir Henry Rawlin son, George Smith, and others, 
however, go to prove the existence of a Hamitic Nimrod, cer- 
tain old bilingual tablets being discovered showing side by 
side a Semitic and a Hamitic inscription, the latter the older 
of the two ; thus the objection has become the strongest sort 
of a confirmation of the sacred record. 

89. Is the genealogy of x. given for mere historical ends 9 

No. The Bible is not a book of archaeology or ethnology. 
There is a deep spiritual drift connected with all its facts and 
doctrines. And this World Register shows that though these 
nations must be suffered for a time to walk in their own ways 
in forgetfulness of God, yet God will not loose His hold upon 
or be unmindful of them. They will, as prodigals to their 
father, come back to Him again ; and when they do it will be 
to find their names In His Book. Hence these nations that 
were scattered abroad in the Dispersion will come together 
again one day, and be gathered around the Cross, and around 
the Throne (Acts ii. 6-11 ; Rev. vii. 9). 

90. What lesson may we gather from this table of nations as 
to the sco2Je and spirit of God's Book, the Bible ? 

That in scope it is as broad as the world— as broad as man- 
kind— and in spirit catholic or universal. It is not Jewish, 
save only as that nation is the channel through which, for a 
while, the Water of Life flows to the other peoples of tlie 
world. Seventy is the sacred world-number ; hence our Lord, 
after appointing the Twelve, "appointed other Seventy also" 
(Luke X. 1 ; John iii. 16). 

91. Ilotv many nations are given in this World Register as 
descended from the sons of Noah ? 

Seventy : fourteen from Japheth, thirty from Ham, and 
twenty-six from Shem. 

BABEL. 

92. When did the Confusion of Tongues and the Dispersion of 
the people take place ? 

In the days of Peleg, but at what period of his life of 250 
years there is no way of determining. It is certain that the 



140 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Babel occurrences did not take place earlier than 130 years, or 
later than 380 years, after the Flood, this interval embracing 
the days of Peleg (x. 25 ; xi. 1-9). 

93. What was the primitive and, until Babel, the universal 
language of mankind f 

This is an open question. The Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, 
Chaldee, Phoenician, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Sanscrit, Chinese, 
and others hav^e each had their respective advocates for the 
palm of priority and precedence. Of all these rival claimants, 
however, the preponderance of opinion is largely in favor of 
the Hebrew as being the original language of the human family. 

94. What is the number of living languages at the present 
time ? 

In the great "Language Atlas" of Balbi (Paris, 1826), the 
number of spoken languages and dialects is designated as being 
860, namel}', 53 in Europe, 153 in Asia, 115 in Africa, 422 in 
America, 117 in the fifth portion of the world ; and yet at this 
day the wliole number is even .greater, especially in conse- 
quence of researches in Africa, into sixty-six of the languages 
and dialects of which the Bible has now been translated. 

95. Wan the speech of man of human or Divine origin ? 

Divine, doubtless ; it originated not on earth, but in Heaven ; 
was the invention of God, not of man. It was a gift bestowed 
upon the creature by the Supreme Benefactor, and early — so 
early as the day on which creatures of this order began to be. 

96. Has the unity of languages been called in question f 

Yes ; even as the unity of the race itself, the one being de- 
clared by unbelieving science to be as impossible as the other. 
As, however, comparative physiology proves the fundamental 
unity of the race — the descent of all mankind from one common 
pair, — so Comparative Philology — modern researches into lan- 
guage — goes to establish the affinity of most known languages 
to one common original speech ; while further investigation in 
the same line will, beyond doubt, reach the final solution of the 
problem, the historical or natural relationship of all the lan- 
guages of the world ; and in so doing verify the correctness of 
the Mosaic record, which alone accounts for the diversities of 



GENESIS. 141 

speech and phenomena of language which are now exhibited 
in tlie human race. 

97. How was this Confusion of Tongues brought about f 

Contrary to the opinion, and in antagonism to the specula- 
tions of some, it was effected by miraculous intervention — by 
direct Divine interposition, an effect or effects being produced 
traceable immediately to God Himself (xi. 7-9). 

98. 2b hoiu many great types or families have philologists 
referred the majority of the languages of the world f 

Three : (1) the Shemitic or Hebrew family ; (2) the Japhetic, 
Indo-Germanic, Indo-European, or Aryan, as the second is 
variously designated ; and (3) the Hamitic. These represent 
the three sons of Noah. It is probable that the languages as 
yet unclassed have relations more or less intimate with one or 
other of these three tolerably definite families. 

99. What new rival of the Great Salvation does the Disper- 
sion of the people dispose of f 

Political organization, which some look upon as the hope of 
mankind, even as some have faith in civilization as the remedy 
for all the evils which affect society. The top of no political 
tower that ever was or ever will be built, however, can ever 
reach Heaven. There must be some other disinfectant than 
that, or the world is lost. 

100. In what part of the globe did the Noachidoe settle and 
the events here narrated take place f 

In a general way the region is designated (xi. 2) as " a plain in 
the land of Shinar" — that vast prairie in the eastern hemi- 
sphere watered by the Euphrates and the Tigris — some think 
the charming valley of the Cashmere. The particular locality 
selected and primarily settled on by these early pilgrims seems 
to have been that embracing what subsequently became the 
site and vicinity of the city of Babylon. 

101. What 7'elation does the history in xi. 1-9 sustain to the 
Wo7^ld Register in x.'? 

The history is attached to the genealogy as a needful appen- 
dix, and thus completes the history of the nations so far as it 



142 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

is carried out by tlie Bible. This is the last section of Scrip- 
ture that treats historically of the whole human race. 

102. How does the earliest history bring m,en before us ? 

It bursts upon us, representing men doi'ng great things, 
building cities (iv. 17), raising pyramids, founding states. 

103. What are the three earliest empb-es of history ? 

Egypt (Mizraim x. 6, 13), of which the capital was Mem- 
phis ; Clialdea, of which the capital was Babel or Babylon (x. 
10 ; xi. 2-9) ; and Assyria, of which the capital was Nineveh 
(x. 11). To these may be added the Canaanite or Phoenician 
city of Sidon (x. 15, 19), and its daughter Tyre, the great com- 
mercial centres of the ancient world, whose empire was not 
the land, but the sea. All these nations were of Hamitic origin. 

SHEM— ABRAHAM. 

104. What new departure does the historian noiv make f 

The nations having gradually departed from Jehovah, and 
fallen into polytheism and idohUry, leaving man universal, 
he now confines his attention to that one of the sons of Noah 
in whose line the knowledge of Jehovah is preserved, and 
out of whicli the world's Redeemer is to spring— Shem. 

105. What relation does the genealogy of the Shemites in xi. 
sustain to that of the Sethitcs in v. ? 

The former is an appendage to the latter, and together they 
form a complete genealogical scries from Adam to Abraham. 

106. What is the difference between the genealogy of Shcm in 
X. 21-31 and that in xi. 10-26 ? 

The former is the World Register and the latter the Church 
Register. The one is the Register of all the children of Shem, 
and the other of the special line along which Salvation is to 
run, and from which the Messiah is to come. 

107. What was the probable population of the world at the 
time of Terah, the father of Abraham? 

A conservative estimate places the number of the descend- 
ants of Noah at this time at fifteen to sixteen millions. 



GENESIS. 143 

108. How does the longevity of the post-diluvians in the Shem- 
itiG line here given compare with the age of the antediluvians f 

On an average, the post-diluvians did not attain to more than 
about one-third of the age of the antediluvians. 

109. Was the progress of the reduction of the term of human 
life slow or rapid f 

As indicated by the Shemite genealogy, the progress was a 
pretty rapid one, and may be divided into three stages or pe- 
riods. Thus, the first reduction began with Shem himself, who 
lived 600 years ; the second witli Arphaxad, who lived 438 
years ; the third reduction with Plialeg or Peleg, who lived 
239 years. Thence there appeared a more gradual decline, 
until our existing standard of threescore and ten was reached. 

110. What Divine determination is made manifest by the re- 
duction of the term of human life since the Deluge f 

That that superfluity of naughtiness and excess of wicked- 
ness which was characteristic of the antediluvian age, would 
not be suffered to reappear or prevail in the post-diluvian era. 
Those great evils and mischiefs which flowed out of or were 
aggravated by the so great protraction of human life, and the 
prevalence of one language in the Old World, the Most High 
would not suffer to exist in the New, in post-diluvian times. 

THE PATRIARCHAL ERA. 
* ABRAHAM. 

111. What relation does the notice of the family of Terah 
(xi. 27-32) sustain to the preceding genealogy of Shemf 

The one is a continuation of the other, and taken together 
they form a suitable prelude to the history of Abraham — the 
one tracing his genealogy from Shem and Heber, and the 
other his relations with the family out of which he was called. 

112. What does this steady unfolding of the History of Re- 
demption teach us concerning God ? 

It shows us the solemn grandeur of long-suffering patience 
with which the Most High moves in the accomplishment of 
His eternal purpose of Mercy towards our fallen race. In it 



144 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

one day is truly seen to be with Him as a thousand years, and 
a thousand years as one day. 

113. How is this made apparent by the history ? 

Out of Adam's three sons He selects one (Seth) to be the 
progenitor of the Seed of the woman ; out of Noah's three 
sons a millenary and a half later He again selects one (Shem) ; 
and now almost a half a millenar3' farther along out of Terah's* 
three is one to be selected (Abraham) ; among the children of 
this one He will by and by choose a second one (Isaac), and 
among his a third one later yet before he reaches the holy 
family — tliat of Jacob ; and of the twelve sons of Jacob He 
will later yet choose one (Judah), in whose line, at the distance 
of 2000 years from Abraham, the promised Seed, the Christ 
Himself, will come. 

114. Why is Abraham'' s name placed first in the list of Terah's 
sons, seeing that Haran is his elder brother f 

For the same reason that Shem, though younger than Japh- 
eth, is always placed first in the list, simply on account of 
his (Abraham's) personal i)re-eminence as the "father of the 
faithful" and the ancestor of the promised Seed. 

115. Beginning with xii., what course does the sacred narra- 
tive now jyursue f 

It takes leave of the rest of the Shemites, as well as the other 
branches of the human family, and confines itself to Abraham. 
Hitherto the history has been but fragmentary ; hence onward 
it will be continuous— from Abraliam to the end of the Bible 
one complete, unbroken story. 

116. What is the state of things in the moral world at the call- 
ing of Abraham ? 

Universal corruption again abounded, and the future of the 
race apparently as hopeless as before the Flood. Even the in- 
habitants of Ur had fallen into polytheism, or, if we may so 
speak, allotheism, the worship of other gods (Josh. xxiv. 2). 

117. What course does Jehovah now adopt with a view to 
the ultim,ate recovery of mankind f 

He chooses Abraham to be the head of a New Dispensa- 
tion, as Noah was ; but with this difference, that while the 



GENESIS. 145 

world is not taken away from Abraham the coming man, 
Abraham the coming man is taken away from tlie world. 
With Abraham a new dispensation is begun, and in him we 
have the starting of a new spiritual life in the human race. 

118. Does this new dispensation involve a radical change in 
the plan or purpose of God in relation to mankind f 

No ; it is but another way of carrying out the covenant of 
grace or promise of victory made with and to our first parents 
(iii. 15), and again with Noah (ix. 9) — another step in the great 
process of removing the curse of sin, dispensing the blessing 
of pardon, and eventually drawing all the nations to accept of 
the proffered mercy of God (xii. 3). 

119. Is there any ground for the allegation that the Old Tes- 
tament is narrow and exclusive, while the New Testament is 
broad and catholic in its spirit ? 

No ; it is a mistake to think so. The Old and New Testa- 
ments are of one mind on this matter. Many are called, and 
few chosen. This is the common doctrine of the New as well 
as the Old. They are both equally catholic in proclaiming the 
gospel to all ; while they both concur in limiting salvation to 
those who, embracing it, repent and believe. Universalism, 
then, in the sense of the offer of mercy to man, is the rule of 
both Testaments. Particularism in the acceptance of it is the 
accident of the time. The call of Abraham is a special expe- 
dient for providing a salvation that may be offered to all the 
families of the earth. 

120. When was this call and promise of God made to Abra- 
ham ? 

At least 422 years subsequent to the last recorded Divine 
communication with Noah (ix. 25-27), and 430 years before the 
Exodus (Ex. xii. 40 ; Gal. iii. 17), when Abraham was 70 years 
old, and about five years before he entered the land of Canaan. 

121. How long is the dispensation inaugurated in Abraham, 
designed to continue ^ 

Abraham being *' the father of all them that believe" (Rom. 
iv. 11), and the one through whom all the nations of the earth 

10 



146 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

are to be blessed (xii. 3), the new era which had its beginning 
in him exists now, and will continue right on till tlie great 
company of the redeemed shall be complete, the Mosaic 
economy coming in really as an episode or parenthesis in the 
Gospel which was preached to, and in the development of the 
Covenant that was made with, this illustrious patriarch (Gal. 
iii. 7-9 ; iv. 21-31 ; v. 17 ; Rom. v. 20). Thus Genesis is the Gospel 
according to Moses as truly as the first Book of the New Testa- 
ment is the Gospel according to Matthew. 

122. How may this long era or dispensation of which Abraham 
is the head be conveniently divided 9 

Into three parts : (1) the era of the separate family ; (2) that 
of the separate nation ; and (3) the era of the separate church ; 
or (1) the Patriarchal ; (2) the Mosaic, and (3) the Christian 
eras. 

123. Where are to be found the records of the separate famili/ ? 

These begin with the 27th verse of the 11th chapter and con- 
tinue on till tlie end of Genesis. 

124. What portion of this family record contains the biogi^aphy 
of the patriarch Abraham himself? 

This begins with xi. 27 and ends with xxv. 10, where the 
death of Abraham is recorded. 

125. What is the key-thought of Abraham'' s life ? 

Separation — Holiness to the Lord. By a series of separations 
the Lord trained Abraham, developing thereby the patriarch's 
faith. And this fundamental idea of "separation" should be 
as characteristic of the familj'', the nation, and the church, as 
of the patriarch himself (1 Cor. x. ; 2 Cor. vi. 14-18). 

126. From what was Abraham called upon to separate him- 
self? 

(1) His country and his father's house (xii. 1) ; (2) his father 
Terah himself (xii. 32) ; (3) Canaan itself as a home (Heb. xi. 
9) ; (4) Egypt as a refuge (xii. 10 ; xiii. 1-4) ; (5) Lot his nephew 
(xiii. 5-12) ; his son Lshmael, on whom his heart was set (xxi. 
9-14) ; (6) his son Isaac, the child of promise (xxii. 1-14) ; (7) 



GENESIS. 147 

Sarah his wife (xxiii. 1, 2) ; (8) all his worldly possessions 
(xxv. 5). 

127. W7iat compensations did God promise to Abraham, in 
view of all these separations and self-denials f 

Four great things : that he should (1) be made a great nation ; 
(2) attain to great prosperity ; (3) achieve great renown ; and 
(4) be a source of great good to all mankind — a universal ben- 
efactor (xii. 1-3). 

128. How did the Abrahamic covenant compare as to contents 
with those which the Lord had previously 'made to m^ankind f 

Three great promises had already been made to mankind : 
(1) the promise to our first parents (iii. 15) of the seed ; (2) to 
Noah (ix. 8-17) of the land, the earth safe forever against the 
encroaching waters ; and (3) that He, Jehovah Himself, 
should be the God of Sliem (ix. 26). Now the covenant with 
Abraham contains all of these three items, viz. : the Seed (xv. 
5 ; xvii. 1-6 ; xxii. 15-18), the Land (xv. 18 ; xvii. 8), and God 
(xv. 1 ; xvii. 7). 

129. Hoiu are these promi,ses to Abraham fulfilled 9 

Not in any literal, but in their higher spiritual senses : As 
regards the Seed, as he is the head of God's spiritual family 
and the progenitor of Christ Himself (Rom. iv. 11, 16 ; ix. 4, 
5 ; Gal. iii. 7-9, 16, 26-29) ; as regards the Land, in the better 
country of which Canaan was but a type (Heb. xi. 9, 10, 13-16) ; 
and as regards God, Jehovah still is, and always will be, the 
portion of His people and their exceeding great reward (Ps. 
Ixxiii. 25, 26 ; Isa. xliii. 1-7 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16-18). 

130. What ivas the character of the earthly prospect to which 
Abraham'' s posterity should look forward before coming into 
possession of the Promised Land f 

Dark and gloomy. Possession would only be gained at the 
expiration of 400 years, a portion of which would be spent in 
bitter and degrading bondage in Egypt (xv. 8, 18 ; Acts vii.). 

131. Whcd was the seal of the Abrahamic Covenant ? 
Circumcision (xvii. 9-27 ; Rom. iv. 9-13). 



148 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

132. What three great episodes are to be noted in the life of 

Abraham f 

The contest with the kings in behalf of Lot (xiv.), the inter- 
cession for, and his relation to, the burning of Sodom (xix.), 
and the trial of his faith (xxii.). 

133. To what age was Abraham permitted to live f 

To be an old man and full of years, being an hundred three- 
score and fifteen (175) years, when he was gathered to his 
people (xxv. 7, 8). 

134. What was the most charactei'istic thing in the life of 
Abraliam? 

Faith,— a faith which led to prompt and unquestioning 
obedience (xii. 4; xv. 8; Rom. iv. 12, 17-22; Heb. xi. 8-10). 
Abraham was the Columbus of the voyage of faith, the great 
pioneer of Cliristian emigrants — the first great Pilgrim Father. 

ISAAC— JACOB— JOSEPH. 

135. What are the narnes of the representative sons of the 
2KLtriarchal era f 

Isaac the son of Abraham, Jacob the son of Isaac, and 
Joseph the son of Jacob — Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. 

136. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the lives 
of these patriarchs'^ 

The life of Abraham is one of authority and decision ; that 
of Isaac, of submission and acquiescence ; that of Jacob, trial 
and struggle ; and that of Joseph, of consistent and victorious 
adherence to tlie right. 

137. How do the sons compare in character with each other ^ 
and ivith Abraham ? 

In Isaac we have a striking contrast to the greatness of 
Abraluim ; in Jacob, a contrast not only to tlie greatness of 
Abraham, but to his goodness as well, and to the goodness of 
Isaac also ; in Josepli, a goodness as well as a greatness which 
ecHpse them all, and shed a lustre over the entire patriarchal 
family. 



GENESIS. 149 

138. What is the special lesson of Isaac's life f 

That though quiet and retiring, passing his long life in com- 
parative obscurity, he takes liis rank witli the best of the 
patriarchs. It is always "Abraham and Isaac and Jacob." 
It is not the outer, but the inner life that commends us to 
God. 

139. What is the special lesson of Jacobs life f 

The power of God's grace in transforming character. The 
life of Jacob shows liow much God's grace can make out of 
the very poorest material. Tlie mean Jacob becomes the 
mighty Israel, a prince with God. 

140. What lesson does the difference in the destiny of the lives 
of Jacob and Esau teach us f 

Tliat the most amiable and attractive moral qualities are no 
substitute for the Grace of God. Esau was far better than 
Jacob at the beginning, but Jacob was far better in the end. 
Esau, turning away from God, went down, losing the place 
of honor to which his birthright entitled him ; while Jacob, 
accepting God as his God, went up, growing better and better, 
rising higher and higher in distinction and honor, and dies at 
last a veritable saint, a noble old man. 

141 . What is there peculiarly encouraging in the history of 
Jacob f 

That however poor the stuff we are made of by nature, God 
can make of us, if only we will yield ourselves to Him, "ves- 
sels unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's use, and 
prepared unto every good work." God was the God of Jacob 
the sinner, as well as Isaac the saint, and Abraham the hero. 
And while there are but few Abrahams, and not a large num- 
ber of Isaacs, there are a great many Jacobs. But Jehovah 
is the God of Jacob as well as the others. This is our encour- 
agement. 

142. What is to be said of the life of Joseph f 

It is one of the noblest in all history. In him we see the 
grandeur of the Old Testament and the grace of the New. He 
was a noble example of the distinctively Christian virtues. If 
the life of Jacob is an encouragement, that of Joseph is an in- 
spiration. 



150 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

143. How may the faith of Ahrahatn and these three rej^resen- 
tative sons of the succeeding generations be compared f 

lu Abraham we have the grandeur of faith ; in Isaac, the 
rest of faith ; in Jacob, tlie victory of faith ; and in Josepli, the 
glory of faith (Heb. xi. 22). 

144. In what respects was Isaac a type of Christ ? 

As tlie Son of God, Isaac was a type of Christ in respect (1) 
of liis birtli (xviii. 9-16 ; xxi. 1-5) ; (2) in liis "obedience unto 
death" (xxii. 1-14) ; (3) as a figure of the resurrection (Heb. xi. 
17-19) ; (4) in tlie reward of obedience (xxii. 15-18 ; Isa. liii. 7- 
11 J ; (5) in his marriage (xxiv. ; Kev. xix. 7, 8). 

145. How is Jacob a type of Christ ? 

As the Son of Man, Jacob was a type of Christ, not in 
character, but (1) in liis humiliation and suffering (xxviii.) ; 
(2) in the object of his journey (xxviii. 2, contrasted with the 
case of Isaac, xxviii. -xxxi., compared witli Hosea xii. 12, and 
John X. 11) ; (3) in his twelve sons, representing the twelve 
apostles ; (4) in his struggle at Peniel (xxxii. 24-32— the New 
Testament Gethsemane, Matt. xxvi. 36-46 ; Luke xxii. 39-46). 

146. JIoiu is Joseph a type o/ Christ? 

As the Saviour of the World, Joseph was a type of Christ 
both in his humiliation and exaltation (xxxvii. ; xli. 46). The 
key to the typical history of Joseph is found in the two titles 
given him, the one by Jacob (xlix. 24), "the Shepherd and 
Stone of Israel," and the other by Pharaoh (xli. 45), " Zapli- 
nath-paaneah," not "revealer of secrets," but "Saviour of the 
World." 

147. In what part of Genesis is the story of Joseph to be found ? 

It begins with the 37th chapter and is continued on through 
to the end of the Book. 

148. Is there any parallel between Joseph's treatment by his 
brethren and that of Christ by His people f 

Yes ; the same base passion prompted the treatment of Both 
—envy. They were both the Objects of causeless hatred 
(xxxvii. 1-11 ; Acts vii. 9 ; Matt, xxvii. 18 ; Mark xv. 10). 



GENESIS. 151 

149. Is there any parallel betiueen Joseph's dreams and 
Christ's prophecies concerning themselves respectively f 

Yes ; in each case they came true and were fulfilled to the 
letter (xxxvii. 5-11 ; xlii. 5-9 ; xliii. 26-28 ; 1. 15-17). 

150. Is there any parallel between Josephs treatment of his 
brethren (xlii. 9-22) and the manner in which Christ in the 
Gospel deals with sinners f 

Yes ; both, with a view to penitence and conviction of sin, 
"refrain" themselves and speak with apparent " roughness" 
(xlii. 30) ; but when once this benevolent end is reached, then 
the heart of the Brother and Saviour overflows in loving 
sympathy, tender consideration, and timely beneficence (xUi. 
17 ; xlv. 1-15 ; Matt. xv. 27, 28 ; Jno. iv. 16-26 ; Acts iii. 13-15). 

151. What great moral lesson does the story of Jose^Ji and his 
brethren teach f 

The certain discovery of wrong doing. Sin's Nemesis is on 
our track, and in the most unexpected ways will bring to light 
all deeds of darkness (xlii. 21-24 ; 1. 15-17 ; Num. xxxii. 23 ; 
Matt, xxvii. 3-5 ; Acts v. 1-11). 

152. Uoia did Jacob and his family come to go to Egyjit f 

Unlike Abraham, who went of his own accord (xii. 10), and 
Isaac, whose purpose to go was interrupted by the Lord (xxvi. 
1-5), Jacob waited for the developments of providence (xlv. 27, 
28) and finally received the express Divine command to go, 
coupled with a glorious promise (xlvi.). The eveut which led 
directly to the descent into Egypt was the selling of Joseph. 

153. How does Jacobus going to .Egypt contrast tvith the ex- 
perience of his father and grandfather 9 

When Abraham, unsent of God, went down to Egypt, he 
brought trouble to Pharaoh and all his house (xii. 10-20) ; when 
Isaac went in the direction of Egypt he got into difficulty 
with Abimelech, King of Gerar (xxvi. 1-25) ; but when Jacob, 
guided and instructed of the Lord, goes down into Egypt, he 
carries blessing with him (xlvii. 1-10). 



152 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

154. In what respect was Jacob better than Pharaoh, that he 
should bless him f 

Pharaoh, it is true, was king of tlie greatest raonarchy of his 
time ; but Jacob, as heir of the Promise, and a Cliild of God, 
is greater and better than any mere earthly monarch (xiv. 18- 
20 ; Heb. vii. 7). 

155. What is there particularly pleasant in the contemplation 
of the aged patriarch in -Egypt ? 

Tlie troubles of his checkered life are at last over (xlii. 35-38), 
and surrounded with his children agaiu he spends his last 
days in plenty and comfort (xlvii. 11, 12 ; xlviii. 11) ; his bet- 
ter nature has evidently triumphed at last over all the crook- 
edness and wickedness of his earlier years (xlviii. 15, 16) ; and 
unlike his father, Isaac (xxvii. 1-29), his spiritual vision has 
become wonderfully clear, as witness his dying benediction 
(xlviii. 10-22) and his prophecy concerning his sons (xlix.). 
The sun of his life sets in a blaze of glory. • 

156. Which of his twelve sons does the dying patriarch indicate 
as the progenitor of the Promised Seed— the Christ f 

Judah, the fourth son (xlix. 8-12). 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

157. What is the relation of Genesis to the Oospel ? 

It is a Book of promise— promise only. There is in it neither 
fulfilment nor any sign of fulfilment. In the last verse of the 
last chapter we are looking into " a coffin in Egypt,'' contain- 
ing the remains of the last of the patriarchs. Abraham is 
dead ; Isaac is dead ; Jacob is dead, and Joseph is dead— mis- 
erable wreck of the Gospel in Genesis ! 

158. Is there no silver lining to this dark cloud ? 

Yes ; " these all died in faith," a telescopic, unfaltering faith 
(xlvii. 27-31 ; xlix. 28-33 ; 1. 25 ; Heb. xi. 13, 20-22). 

159. What part of Josephs life was spent in Egypt f 

Being but seventeen when he was sold by his brethren 
(xxxvii. 2, 28), of the one hundred and ten years of his life 



GENESIS. 153 

threescore and thirteen (73) were spent in Egypt. Of this 
period thirteen years were spent in humiliation — eleven as a 
servant in Potiphar's house (xxxix. and xl.) — and sixty years 
in honor and power (xli. 38-45). 

160. How did the patriarchs spend the time in Genesis f 

For about two huadred years after the migration of Abraham 
his family lived in Palestine as strangers, pitching their tents 
in various localities, wherever pasturage was abundant, being 
shepherds (xiii. 2 ; xlvi. 34). Their home was generally in the 
southern part of the country, west of the Dead Sea, and their 
relations with the Amorites, Canaanites, and Philistines on 
the soil were generally friendly (xx. 14 ; xxvi. 26-31). 

161. Whose are the principal portraits luhich adorn the pages 
of Genesis? 

Those of Adam and Eve ; Abel, Enoch, Noah ; Abraham, 
Hagar and Sarah ; Isaac and Rebecca ; Jacob, Rachel and 
Leah ; and Joseph. 

162. What are some of the most exquisite pictorial scenes 
which hang upon the walls of Genesis ? 

Paradise and the Flood ; the Departure from Ur of the 
Chaldees ; the Tent-door at Mamre ; the Flaming Cities of the 
Plain ; Hagar in the Wilderness ; The Offering of Isaac ; Re- 
becca at the Well ; Jacob before Pharaoh ; the Dying Patriarch 
blessing His Sous ; Joseph making himself known to his 
Brethren. 

163. What especially painful exhibitions of human wickedness 
does Genesis bring to our notice f 

Besides the murder of Abel, the bigamy of Lamech and 
antediluvian wickedness generally, we have in the post-dilu- 
vian period corruption and cruelty in their extreme forms in 
the brutal insensibility of Ham (ix. 22), the incest of the 
daughters of Lot (xix. 32), Lot's wife casting a yearning look 
on Sodom (xix. 26), the sin of Onan (xxxviii. 8, 9), the incest 
of Tamar (xxxviii. 6-30), the deceit practised by Jacob upon 
his brother Esau and his father Isaac (xxvii.), and the base 
and unnatural conduct of Jacob's-sons towards their brother 



154 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Joseph (xxxvii.). Some of these enormities, even in the se- 
lected line, put to the blush heathenism itself. 

164. How many and what are the miracles of supernatural 
interpositions 7'ecorded in Genesis f 

Besides tlie various Tlieoplianies and visions, there are nine 
events which manifest special Divine intervention : (1) Crea- 
tion itself (i.) ; (2) the Cherubims at the Garden gate (iii. 24) ; 
(3) the Translation of Enoch (v. 24) ; (4) the Flood (vii. 11-24) ; 
(5) the Confusion of Tongues (xi. 6-9) ; (6) the Bow in the Cloud 
(ix. 8-17) ; (7) the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (xix. 
24, 25) ; (8) the Conception of Isaac (xxi. 13) ; (9) the Provid- 
ing a Substitute for Isaac (xxii. 13, 14). 

165. What remarkable prayer is recorded in Genesis ? 

The intercession of Abraham in behalf of the doomed cities 
of the plain (xviii. 23-33). 

166. W/iat unique persoiialifi/ appears in Genesis? 

Melchizedek, the royal priest, without predecessor or suc- 
cessor, the only one of his order, and a t^^pe of our Lord (xiv. 
18-20 ; Ps. ex. ; Heb. v. 6, 10 ; vi. 20, and vii.). 

167 Whcd example does Genesis offer for imitation to all 
persons occupying confidential relations and 2)Ositions of trust ? 

Eliezer, Abraham's chief servant and steward, whose fidel- 
ity, diplomacy, expedition, and success in the matter of pro- 
curing a wife for his son Isaac is beyond all criticism, and 
worthy of all praise (cxv. 2 ; xxi v.). 

168. To what class of literature does Genesis belong? 

Biograph3^ By far the largest number of events recorded in 
the Book have individuals for their centre. 

169. What is the key-thought of Genesis ? 
Promise. 



EXODUS. 155 



EXODUS. 

THE VARIOUS ERAS. 

1 . Into how many ages or dispensations have we divided the 
history of God's dealings with sinful man f 

Three, viz. : (1) that which begins with the Edenic promise 
to Adam and Eve, and closes with the Judgment of the Flood ; 

(2) that whicli begins with the promise to Noah and closes 
with the Judgment of the Babel Dispersion ; (3) that which 
begins with the Call of Abraham, which is going on still, and 
which will continue to the end of the world. 

2. In what respect does the third age or dispensation differ 
from, the other two f 

In the principle of "Separation," as distinct from the gen- 
eral offer of mercy previously made once and again to all 
mankind. 

3. What are the three eras of the third or Abrahamic age f 

(1) The era of the separate Family or the Times of the Patri- 
archs ; (2) the era of the separate Nation or the Times of Is- 
rael ; (3) the era of the separate Church or the Times of the 
Gentiles— that is, the Christian Era (Gen. xii. 1 ; Ex. iv. 22 ; 
Hosea xi. 1 ; 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18). 

4. Into how many periods may the national era be divided? 

Seven : (1) the Mosaic era ; (2) tlie administration of Joshua ; 

(3) the period of the Judges ; (4) that of the Kings, or the pe- 
riod of the Monarchy ; (5) the Captivity ; (6) the Restoration ; 
(7) the Maccabean era, till the time of Christ. 

5. Into which of these eras does the history of Exodus fall f 
The Mosaic— that of the founding of the separate nation. 

6. How does the history of the Mosaic era compare with that 
of the previous dispensations^ as recorded in Genesis ? 

In the Mosaic era the time is exceedingly brief— covering 
only the life of Moses himself — but the records are extensive, 



156 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

the Books, of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy 
being devoted to it ; wliile in the previous dispensations the 
time is long and the record brief. 

ISRAEL IN EGYPT. 

7. How does the National era begin f 

As does the patriarchal, and, in fact, every dispensation of 
grace, with an Exodus. 

8. What is the meaning of the word Exodus ? 

A going out or Departure ; hence this Book is called Exodus 
because it begins with the Deliverance or Departure of the 
Children of Israel— God's elect nation — from the Bondage of 
Egypt. 

9. How mat/ the contents of the Book of Genesis be compared 
ivith those of Exodus f 

In the former we have the history of the Church during its 
existence in private families ; in the latter, of its growth into a 
great nation ; in Genesis we have the creation of the world in 
history ; in Exodus, the Redemption of the world in type ; 
after Genesis comes Exodus, as after our birth into this world 
comes our death or dejiarture out of it. 

10. Who are the subjects of this Book of Exodus f' 

The children of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, the grand- 
son of Abraham — the Hebrew people. 

11. What 2^osition between Abraham and Christ does Israel 
as a nation occupy f 

That of the fourth son— the line of succession being Abraham, 
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Israel as a nation, Christ (Ex. iv. 22 ; 
Hosea xi. 1 ; Matt. ii. 14. 15). 

12. }Vhat luas the purpose of God in bringing the Children of 
Israel^ the descendants of Abraham^ into Egypt? 

To make them a great nation (Gen. xlvi. 3). In particular, 
their Preservation, Growth, Isolation, and Civilization were 
involved in the plan. 



EXODUS. 157 

13. How did the Israelites compcrre in numbers at their en- 
trance into and departure from Egypt f 

At their descent into Egypt thej" numbered seventy souls — 
the world number — and at the Exodus about three milUons, 
calculating five persons for every man (i. 5 ; xii. 37). 

14. What are the leading events between the Deluge and the 
Exodus ? 

These are six ; (1) The Deluge, (2) the Dispersion, (3) the 
Rise of the Empires, (4) the Migration of Abraham, (5) the 
Patriarchs in Palestine, and (6) the Sojourn in Egypt. 

15. What p)osition did Egypt occupy at that time among the 
nations of the earth ? 

It was the grandest representative of the world's most an- 
cient civilization ; and the period of Israel in Egypt was the era 
of Eg3'pt's greatest gior3\ 

16. What tuas the effect up)on Israel of their long and close 
contact with the ivorld^s greatest magnificence f 

Entering Egypt as princes, they left it as slaves. The great 
country of the South that was meant for a school, proved to 
be a prison — "the land of Egypt" became "the house of 
bondage." 

17. What does Israel and Egypt respectively represent f 

Israel represents the Church and Egypt the world ; hence 
the world is a school in which God trains and disciplines His 
people. 

THE EXODUS PROPER. 

18. How may the story of Exodus be divided? 

Into three parts : (1) Israel in Egypt (i.-xii.) ; (2) from Egypt 
to Sinai (xiii.-xviii.) ; (3) at Sinai, including the giving of the 
Law and the erection of the Tabernacle (xix.-xl.). Time, one 
year. 

19. ]V7iat preparations were needed for effecting the deliver- 
ance of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt? 

As in the case of the greater deliverance of which this was 
but a type, a twofold preparation was necessary — (1) the De- 



158 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

liverer was to be prepared for the people, and (2) the people 
for Deliverance. 

20. Who was the chosen deliverer of the Hebrews ? 

Moses, the man of God, in many respects the grandest and 
most indestructible figure in all the gallery of history. 

21. What was Moseses age, and how ivas his life divided f 

He lived to the age of 120 j'ears (Deut. xxxiv. 7) and his life 
was divided into three periods of forty years each— (1) forty 
years of princely education in Egypt— a school of Faith (Acts 
vii. 22j ; (2) forty years in the desert of Midian — a school of 
Humiliation and Patience (ii. 11-22) ; and (3) forty years' great 
and glorious service for God and his countrymen— a school of 
Loyalty and Obedience, the history of which is to be found 
in the last four Books of the Pentateuch. 

22. In what pan^t of Exodus is the account of 3foses^s early 
life^ call, and commission related? 

In ii. we have an account of his birth, preservation, and 
education ; in iii. his call and mission ; and in iv. his creden- 
tials and qualifications. (See also Acts vii. 17-37.) 

23. In what respects was Moses a type of Christ? 

(1) In the perils of his infancy (ii.) ; (2) his voluntary surren- 
der of royalty (Heb. xi. 23-27) ; (3) his training in solitude (ii. 
11 ; iii. 6) ; and (4) in his leadership of his people out of 
Bondage. 

24. What preparation on the part of the people was used for 
their deliverance ? 

This was twofold : (1) a deep sense of their degradation and 
misery ; and (2) faith and humilitj'^, so as to surrender them- 
selves to Divine guidance (ii. 23 ; iv. 31). 

25. How were the chief rulers of Egypt known f 

As Pharaohs, as in ancient Rome its emperors bore the 
title of Ceesars. So we speak of the Russian Czar, the German 
Kaiser, or the Sultan of Turkey. 



EXODUS. 159 

26. How did Jehovah deal with Pharaoh in effecting the 
release of the Hebrews ? 

First He used arguraents and miracles ; afterwards plagues. 
When words failed and signs failed, He was compelled to come 
to blows (v.-xii.). 

27. How many and what were the plagues of Egypt f 

They were Ten in number, viz. : (1) the river turned to blood 
(vii. 14-25) ; (2) Frogs (viii. 1-15) ; (3) Lice (viii. 16-19) ; (4) 
Flies (viii. 20-32) ; (5) Murrain of Cattle (ix. 1-7) ; (6) Boils (ix. 
8-12) ; (7) Fire and Hail (ix. 13-35) ; (8) Locusts (x. 1-20) ; (9) 
Darkness (x. 21-29) ; (10) Death of the First-born (xi.-xii.). 

28. Wliat was the signifiGance of these plagues f 

They were blows at idolatry — judgment against the gods of 
Egypt ; and as manifestations of Divine power, each plague 
being directed against an imaginary deity, were designed to 
confirm the faith of the Israelites in the omnipotence and 
supremacy of Jehovah their God. 

29. Did the Hebrews suffer from these plagues f 

No; from these the Lord protected His people, thereby 
putting "a difference between Egypt and Israel" (viii. 22, 23 ; 
ix. 4 ; x. 23 ; xi. 7). 

30. How were the Israelites protected against the sword of the 
destroying angel f 

By the blood of the slain lamb, sprinkled upon the door- 
posts and lintels of their houses according to the Divine direc- 
tions (xii. 21-23). Henceforth Blood becomes the Sign and 
Pledge of Redemption. 

31. Why was not the blood sprinkled on the threshold as welt 
as on the door-posts and lintels of the houses 9 

That a thinar so sacred misrht not be trodden under foot. 



^is' 



32. What ordinance luas instituted in connection with this 
memorable event 9 

The Passover — a Pictorial Parable of Sin and Salvation— 
which was ever after to be annually observed as a Feast to 



160 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



the Lord throughout the generations of the Hebrew people 
(xiL). 

33. Hoiv did the Hebrews leave the scene of their degradation 
and suffering f 

As victors, laden with the spoils of Egypt. Such is the true 
reading of xii. 35, 36. 

THE MARCH TO SINAI. 

34. What special favor did Jehovah now show to His eman- 
cipated people f 

He went before them in a Pillar of Cloud bj^ day, and by 
night in a Pillar "of Fire, to lead them in the way (xiii. 17-22). 
This was the original ''Pilgrim's Progress" begun. 

35. What was the final act in the series by which the deliver- 
ance of the Hebrews was completed f 

Their victorious passage through the Red Sea and the 
whelming of Pharaoh and his pursuing host therein (xiv.). 

36. What did the people do on this side of the Sea ? 
They sang the Song of Moses, the triumphal ode in xv. 

37. In what sense did God harden Pharaoh'' s heart f 

Pharaoh, by his conduct, put himself under the operation 
of the invariable law, according to which a man's heart be- 
comes harder the longer he resists Divine mercy and grace. 
Inasmuch as Pliaraoh himself resisted the righteous demands 
of Jehovah, he hardened his own heart. Inasmuch as the 
law, under wliose operation he brought himself, was God's 
law, God hardened his heart. It is the same j)rocess viewed 
from its two sides. 

38. What are the incidents of the march to Sinai^ and how 
long did it take f 

(1) The murmuring at Marah and the rest at Elim (xv. 22- 
27) ; (2) the miraculous supply of food (xvi.) and (3) of water 
(xvii. 1-7) ; (4) the contest with the Amalekites (xvii. 8-16) ; 
(5) the meeting with Jcthro, INIoses's father-in-law (xviii.) — the 
whole occupying a period of about two months. 



EXODUS. 161 

39. What was the purpose of God in causing the people to pass 
through these varied experiences ? 

Educational and disciplinary — to show the people them- 
selves, and to reveal to them Himself (Deut. viii. 2, 3). 

40. What characteristic did the Israelites display in their 
march to ^nai .^ 

Unbelief— a spirit wholly unworthy an emancipated people 
and a conquering host. 

AT SINAI. 

THE LAW AND THE COVENANT. 

41. What was the first great event which took place upon the 
people's arrival at Sinai ? 

The giving of the Moral Law — the Ten Words (xx. 1-17), 
— the account of the preparation for which is given in xix., 
and the effect of its deliverance upon the people, in xx. 17-21. 

42. Was the place suited to so august a display of the Divine 
majesty and so sublime a revelation f 

Yes ; the wild, desolate, rugged grandeur of Sinai was well 
fitted to fill the soul with that awe which one feels in the 
presence of the sublime in nature, and to produce the im- 
pression of separation from the world, and introduction in the 
presence of the Almighty Maker of all things. 

43. Was the Moral Law given as a means of salvation f 

No ; it comes rather as a sequel of salvation — as a means 
of training and disciplining those already saved. Grace is the 
foundation of all (xix. 3-6 ; xx. 2, as also Romans i.-xii. 1). 

44. What was the second great event at Sinai f 

The giving and inauguration of the National Covenant — 
Jehovah's Covenant with the children of Israel — of which 
Moses was the mediator (xx. 22 ; xxiv. 8). 

45. What ?!s the nature of this National Covenant 9 

It consists of four parts : (1) a general outline of the mode 
of worship, especially guarding its purity and simplicity (xx. 

11 



162 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

22-26) ; (2) a code of laws or "judgments" regulating the civil 
relations to each other of the members of the Hebrew Com- 
monwealth (xxi. 1-xxiii. 9) ; (3) matters pertaining to the Sab- 
batli — the Sabbath year, the Sabbath-day — and the yearly 
festivals (xxiii. 10-19) ; (4) those promises which set fortli the 
Divine part in the Covenant— promises of angelic guidance, 
victor}', national prosperitj^, and greatness — accompanied, how- 
ever, with cautions against disobedience and against yielding 
to the temptations of forsaking tlie God of Israel for other 
gods of the nations around them (xxiii. 20-33). 

46. What relation does the Decalogue sustain to the National 
Covenant f 

The former is the basis of the latter and a part of the national 
compact ; but the Moral Law possesses elements which the 
civil code or National Covenant did not. This Covenant was 
only designed to last as long as the nation did. It was there- 
fore temporary- ; while the Decalogue was not national, but 
catholic ; not temporary, but eternal. 

47. How (lid Jehovah emphasize the superiority of the Moral 
Laiu over the Civil Code ? 

The Moral Law, or the Ten Words, He Himself spoke 
directly to the people, and to indicate its perpetual authority 
and force with His own finger engraved them on stone tablets ; 
M-hile the substance of the civil compact was delivered to 
Moses as the Lawgiver of Israel, and by him were written in a 
book called "the Book of the Covenant" (xxiv. 7; xxxi. 18; 
xxxii. 15, 16 ; Deut. v. 22). 

TABERNACLE REVELATION. 

48. What ivas the nature of the third revelation which God 
made to Moses on the Mount f 

It had direct reference to the religious ceremonies to be ob- 
served by the people in their approach to God, and consisted 
of minute and specific directions concerning the Tabernacle or 
Tent of Meeting between God and His people — the offerings 
for, and the construction of it — its furniture, its officers, and 
those appointed to do the work (xxv.-xxxi. 1-11). 



EXODUS. 163 

49. How is the Tabernacle revelation concluded 9 

By the re-euactment of the Sabbath law in a new aspect as a 
Sign— as it was then, is now, and ever shall be (xxxi. 12-18). 

50. How was the great importance and inestimable value of 
the Tabernacle revelation betokened f 

By the glory prelude of six days which preceded it, and 
the length of time that was occupied in conveying it, the 
whole amounting to forty days and forty nights (xxiv. 9-18). 

51. What is the relation of the Tabernacle to the Law f 

(1) The later revelation was the complement of the former. 
The law taught how very far off Jehovah was in Holiness ; 
the Tabernacle teaches how very near He is ready to come to 
us in Love (Comp. xix. 12 with xxv. 8) ; (2) the Tabernacle in- 
cludes the Law, which is both its centre and its end (xxv. 10-16 ; 
xxxi. 18 ; xl. 3 ; Heb. ix. 3, 4) ; (3) the Tabernacle revelation 
had an element of permanence in it, which the Law had not. 
Jehovah appeared upon Mount Sinai, but He dwelt in the 
Tabernacle. The one was a solemn memory ; the other a de- 
lightful ever-present experience. 



RUIN AVERTED. 

52. What untoiuard incident now threatened to ruin all9 

The violation of the Second Commandment— the idolatrous 
propensity of the people as manifested in the worship of the 
Golden Calf, the evil consequences of which were only averted 
by the intercession of Moses (xxxii.). 

53. To what precipitate act did the sight of the j^eoj^le^s idol- 
atry/ impel Moses ? 

His righteous indignation was aroused, and in the moment 
of his hot anger he cast the Tables of the Law out of his hands 
and broke them (xxxii. 19). 

54. Hoiv ivas this calf-iuorship of the people punished f 

By the infliction of death upon as many as, refusing obedi- 
ence, continued in their obstinacy against God (xxxii. 25-29). 



164 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

55. How were the friendly relations between God and the peo- 

X>le restored ? 

By Moses as mediator casting himself into the breach, and, 
CHRiST-lilve, virtually offering himself as a sacrifice in their 
behalf, thereby making an atonement for their sin (xxxii. 30). 

56. Are the friendly relations between God and His people 
now fully restored? 

No ; only partially so. The promise made in the Book of 
the Covenant (xxiii. 23) is renewed (xxxii. 2) ; but the Taber- 
nacle revelation is witlidrawn. An angel is to go before them, 
but God Himself will not dwell among them ; whereat the 
people mourn — an angel before them being but a poor substi- 
tute for God in the midst of them (xxxiii. 1-6). 

57. What expedient did Moses noiv adopt with a vieiv to the 
complete restoration of friendship between God and the people f 

He removed the Tent — his official headquarters — from where 
it was in the midst of the people, and pitched it without the 
camp, afar off from tlie camp ; so that, though the Lord could 
not come into tlie midst of them now, all those who were thor- 
oughly repentant might have the opportunity of showing their 
repentance by leaving the scene of their sin and going afar off 
without the camp to meet the Lord (xxxiii. 7). 

58. Was this expedient on the part of Moses successful f 

Yes ; the people were profoundly affected, and the Lord 
promptly set thereto the seal of His approval, speaking " unto 
Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" (xxxiii.). 

59. What advantage did Moses take of this fresh token of the 
Divine favor 9 

He besought tlie Lord for the renewal of the Tabernacle 
promise, for tlie restoration of the crowning blessing of the 
presence of Jehovah in the midst of them ; which request 
the Lord graciously answered (xxxiii. 12-17). 

60. What ivere the results of Moses's mediation as respects the 
relation of God to the people f 

The renewal of all that had been forfeited by the Calf- Wor- 
ship : (1) the tables (xxxiv. 1-4) ; (2) the Name (xxxiv. 5-9) ; 
(3) the Tabernacle (xxxv.-xxxix.). 



EXODUS. 165 

61. What physical effect had this protracted co'inmunion with 
God on Moses ? 

Though himself all unconscious of the fact, " the skin of his 
face shone," insomuch that, while speaking with the people, 
he "put a veil on his face," by reason of the effulgence of its 
reflected glory (xxxiv. 29-35 ; 2 Cor. iii). 

62. WTiat evidences of genuine repentance did the people now 
give ? 

(1) Alacrity insetting about the work of erecting the Taber- 
nacle ; (2) their superabounding liberality (xxxvi. 5-7) ; (3) 
the minutest and most careful obedience to all the instructions 
given for the building of the Tabernacle and its furniture. 

THE TABERNACLE AND ITS FURNITURE. 

63. What are the contents of the 4:0th Cha2Dter f 

It contains the orders of Jehovah for the setting up of the 
Tabernacle (1-15), an account of how these orders were exe- 
cuted (17-33), and how the Lord took possession of the struc- 
ture when once it was erected and furnished (34-38). 

64. What importance is to be attached to the Tabernacle in 
the Mosaic Economy ? 

The very first, as may be seen from the following considera- 
tions : (1) it carries the Decalogue itself in its bosom (xl. 3) ; 
(2) the great space that is given to it in the Pentateuch — one- 
third of the entire Book of Exodus, the whole of Leviticus, 
and a considerable portion of Numbers, being taken up with it ; 
and (3) the importance attached to all the details respecting 
it, being again and again repeated (xxv. 9-40 ; xxxv.-xL). 

65. Under what heads can the Tabernacle be best discussed ? 

Three: following the lead of xl., (1) the structure itself 
(17-19) ; (2) its apartments and furniture (20-33) ; (3) the cloud 
without and the glory within (34-38). 

66. Wliat is the furniture of the Tabernacle? 

The Brazen Altar and the Brazen Laver (xl. 6, 7) ; the Table 
of the Shew-bread and the Golden Candlestick (xl. 4) ; the 



166 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Altar of Incense or Golden Altar (xl. 5) ; and the Ark of the 
Covenant (xl. 2). 

67. What were the divisions of the Sacred Tent itself, and 
what was their furniture f 

These were two : first, the Holy of Holies (xxvi. 33,) in which 
was the Ark of the Covenant, upon the golden covering of 
which was the Mercy-seat, and the Veil which separated it 
from, Second, the Holy Place, in which was the Table of 
Shew-bread, the Golden Candlestick, and the Altar of Incense 
(xl. 20-27). 

68. What place did the brazen altar and laver occupy f 

They were placed in the Court of the Tabernacle, indicating 
that the only way by which sinful men can enter into the 
Sanctuary of Jehovah, is by and through Atonement and 
washing or Regeneration (xl. 28-32). 

69. What was the design of the Tabernacle and its ritual f 

To convey by a series of pictures— object lessons or tjqies 
and symbols— spiritual truths to the minds of the people of 
that day, as well as to future generations— the only method 
of education suited to the necessities of the case. Through the 
Tabernacle services the Gospel was preached to the people' of 
that era. 

70. How is a type distinguished from a symbol f 

A type is prophetic, referring to something in the future 
which it foreshadows ; while the symbol is significant of truth 
which belongs to the time then present. By its symbols the 
Tabernacle and its services were a sermon, or rather a col- 
lection of sermons ; in its types, a prophecy or bundle of 
prophecies. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

7L What are the types of Christ in Exodus ? 

(1) The Exodus itself a type of the Great Salvation ; (2) 
Moses in all his offices as Prophet, Priest, and King ; (3) the 
Paschal Lamb (xii.) ; (4) the Manna (xvi.) ; (5) the Smitten 
Rock (xvii.) ; (6) the Mercy-seat (xxvi. 34) ; (7) the Daily Sacri- 
fice and the Burning Incense (xxix. 38 ; xxx. 1) ; (8) the Taber- 



EXODUS. 167 

nacle as a whole, prefiguring the Word become Flesh and 
dwelling among us (John i. 1, 14, 18). 

72. How often and how long was Moses in the Mount with 
God? 

Besides his first ascent (xix. 3-14) he was in the Mount with 
God on two subsequent occasions of forty days and forty 
nights each ; the first being the prelude to the Tabernacle 
revelation (xxiv. 9-18), and the second, to the renewal of the 
Tables, the Name, and the Tabernacle promise, after the 
people's lapse and restoration (xxxiv. 1-xxxv. 1). 

73. How does the close of Exodus contrast luith that of 

Genesis? 

Genesis began with, " In the beginning God," and ended 
with a " Coffin in Egypt ;" while Exodus opens with Israel in 
Egyptj a poor, oppressed, wretched multitude of slaves, and 
ends with God in Israel — a glorious fact, but a still more 
glorious prophecy of greater things to come (Matt. i. 23 ; Rev. 
xxi. 3, 4, and xxii. 3, 4). 

74. Wliat is the character of the contents of Exodus f 

The first half is purely historical ; while the latter portion 
is about equally divided between that which is historical and 
that which is Apocalypse. 

75. What are the miracles of Exodus 9 

These are twenty: the burning bush (iii.); the transformations 
of the rod and the leprosy and cure of Moses's hand (iv.) ; the 
ten plagues, each counted as one (vii.-xii.) ; the pillar of fire 
and cloud (xiii. 21, 22) ; the dividing of the Red Sea (xiv. 
13-29) ; the bitter made sweet (xv. 23-25) ; the manna and 
the quails (xvi. 11-15) ; the smitten rock (xvii. 7) ; the scene 
at Sinai (xix.-xxxix.) ; the glory filling the newly erected 
Tabernacle (xl. 34). 

76. What poetry is there in Exodus ? 

Besides the poetic facts and the statement thereof, there is 
the triumphal Song of Moses upon the passage of the Red 
Sea (xv.), 



168 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

77. What remarkable prayers are found in Exodus ? 

The intercession of Moses in belialf of his guilty people 
(xxxii.), which corresponds with the pleading of Abraham for 
wicked Sodom in Genesis. In addition to this, there is that 
most remarkable of all human requests of xxxiii. 18. 

78. What are the key-thoughts of Exodus f 
OpiDressiou, Emancipation, Obedience. 

LEVITICUS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. How did the Book of Exodus close f 

With the setting up of the Tabernacle in the midst of the 
tents of Israel, and its occupation by Jehovah (xl. 34-38). 

2. What twofold purpose did the Tabernacle subserve in the 
Jewish economy f 

As the Jewish constitution was in theory a Theocracy — a 
visible representation of the reign of God — Jehovah sustained 
to that people the double relation of God and King. Hence 
the Tabernacle was at once the Temple where Jehovah was 
worshipped, and His official residence, the palace, the earthly 
dwelling-place of the Great King. 

3. Who were the officials xvho ivaifed upon and ministered to 
Jehovah in His earthly courts, as God and King ? 

The Levites, who were at once priests and ministers of 
state. 

4. Why is this third Book of Moses called Leviticus ? 

Because it treats of the offices, rites, services, and feasts of 
the Hebrew religion, as given in charge of the priests — the 
sons and descendants of Levi. 

5. Hoiv may this Book be fitly designated ? 

As the Directory of Old Testament worship. It contains the 
Hebrew ritual, that is, the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish 



LEVITICUS. 169 

religion. It sets forth the method of the sinner's approach to 
God — atonement by Sacrifice and mediation by Priesthood. 

6. What is the historical importance of this Book of Leviticus 9 

Very great. One might as well expect to understand the 
history of Greece, while remaining in ignorance of philosophy 
and art ; or of England, while knowing nothing at all of 
parliament and the constitution — as to understand the history 
of Israel without a knowledge of the Hebrew ritual. 

7. WTiat is singular about this Book of Leviticus f 

It is pre-eminently the Word of God. It contains but little 
else than God's own utterances. It is more entirely made up 
of the very words of Jehovah than any other Book of the 
Bible. From beginning to end it is the Lord Himself that 
speaks, whilst Moses simply reports His utterances. There is 
but little in the Book that is simply and purel}^ historical ; 
almost all is ax3ocalyj)se — a pure revelation from God. 

8. What estimate is commonly put upon this Book ? 

It constitutes a part of the sacred Canon, less read, and 
usually accounted less interesting and important, than almost 
any other. It is looked upon as the mere record of an obsolete 
economy'", a mere collection of curiosities for the antiquarian, 
inapplicable to our times, and containing little or nothing of 
any practical value to us. 

9. Is this a correct estimate of the Book f 

By no means. On the contrary, it is a book of impressive, 
sublime, evangelical instruction. It abounds in living pictorial 
illustrations of the Gospel. So true is this, that it is not too 
much to call it "The Gospel according to Leviticus." It is 
the Calvary of the Pentateuch. Its every hne points to "the 
Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." If 
without the New Testament we cannot understand Leviticus, 
it is also true that without Leviticus we cannot understand 
the New Testament. 

10. Which Book of the New Testament is the Key to Leviticus f 

Hebrews. This book is one grand argument for Christianity 
drawn from the rites and services of the Levitical economy. 



170 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Besides this, the New Testament has at least forty references 
to the ordinances of this Book. 

11. Do any of the rites of the Lent leal or ceremonial law 
bear any resemblance to those in use among any heathen na- 
tions f 

Yes ; but with striking differences. Some of the learned 
think the former borrowed from the latter ; others think the 
latter borrowed from the former ; while still others maintain 
that both were taken from early patriarchal institutes, which 
the Gentiles corrupted and which God Himself modified to 
meet the peculiar condition of the Jews. Tliis last theory, the 
most probable of the three, is confirmed by the fact that 
vciAXiY 'primitive traditions are preserved in th^ systems, moral, 
religious, and pliilosophical, of many ancient nations. 

12. What was there in common between the religious worship 
of the Jews and other ancient nations ? 

Sacrifices, bloody rites, formed the most essential part in the 
religious worsliip of both Jews and pagan peoples. When 
God gave commandment to Moses concerning them, they 
already formed a part of the common religion of the world. 

13. Were these laws of Leviticus given from the same place as 
the laws of Exodus f 

No ; the former, as was meet, were given from the Taber- 
nacle, the Tent of Propitiation, at the foot of Sinai by God as 
Saviour ; while tlie latter were given from the top of the 
Mount by Jehovah as Sovereign. 

14. What resemblance is there between the Book of Leviticus 
and the Tabernacle itself? 

Like the Tabernacle, it is rough and unattractiv^e on the out- 
side, and may even provoke the sneers of the mere passers-by ; 
but it is all glorious within, and to those who with reverent 
feet enter its portal, there will be unfolded no inconsiderable 
amount of " the unsearchable riches of Christ." 

15. Was the Old Testament worshijj essentially different from 
ours f 

No ; tlie same thoughts, the same emotions, the same pur- 
poses, the same aspirations, the same hopes, were common to 



LEVITICUS. 171 

both. The difference was only this — that while they wor- 
shipped mainly through sight-forms addressed to the eye, we 
worship through sound- forms addressed to the ear. 

16. What objection does modern " culture'''' urge against 
Leviticus f 

It savors too much, it is alleged, of the abattoir. It makes 
the Sanctuary of Jehovah look like a solemn slaughter-house. 
Its scenes of blood and butchery are regarded as peculiarly 
revolting to persons of refined sensibilities, barbarous in their 
nature, and not to be tolerated by a cultivated taste ! 

17. What is the answer to this objection f 

It is not denied that there is much that is revolting in the 
scenes brought before us in Leviticus, but Sin also in its 
manifestations is revolting, and where Sin is to be quenched 
there must be Blood; for without "the shedding of blood" 
there is neither pardon nor sanctification (Heb. ix. 22 ; 1 John 
i.7). 

18. WJiat proofs of the Divine origin of Leviticus are con- 
tained within the Book itself f 

These are two; (1) the prophecy concerning the Jewish 
people found in xxvi., the fulfilment of which is spread be- 
fore the eyes of all the world ; and (2) the perfect agreement 
between the views of doctrine and practice it presents with the 
unfigurative teachings of the New Testament. 

19. What is the final end of the prescriiDtions of this Book? 
The cure of sin and the production of holy living. 

CONTENTS OF LEVITICUS. 

20. What is a general analysis of Leviticus f 

It may be divided into two great parts ; (1) the Way to God 
by Sacrifice (i.-xvi.) ; and (2) the Walk with God by Sanctifi- 
cation and Separation (xvii.-xxvii.). 

21. What are the specific subjects of ivhich it treats f 

These are nine : (1) the ritual of the altar — sacred things 
(i.-vii.) ; (2) the ritual of the priesthood — sacred persons 
(viii.-x.) ; (3) evil in its manifestations — the great need of holi- 



172 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

ness (xi.-xv.) ; (4) the Great Day of Atonement, or entrance 
into the Hohest of all (xvi.) ; (5) laws for hol3^ living (xvii.- 
XX.) ; (6) personal requirements of the priests (xxi., xxii.) ; (7) 
concerning holy festivals (xxiii.-xxv.) ; (8) the great prophecy 
concerning Israel (xxvi.) ; (9) concerning vo\Vs (xxvii.). 

THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE. 

22. What place does the altar of burnt-offering occupy in 
Leviticus and in the worship of the Tabernacle ? 

Typical, as it is, of the great expiatory or atoning work of 
Christ upon the Cross, it occupies a most prominent place 
in both. It stands in the very forefront of all— at the very 
threshold of all the services of the Sanctuary. It is the centre 
of the worship of the Court, and also the foundation of all the 
Tabernacle worship. 

23. What is the great signijicance of the prominence thus 
assigned to the altar ? 

That there is no way into the Holiest of all— Heaven — save 
by way of the altar — the Cross, through a priesthood — that 
of Christ, by means of a Sacrifice through Christ, the Medi- 
ator of the New Testament (Heb. ix.). 

24. IIoiv did the altar of burnt-offering stand related to God 
and the people ? 

It was the people's place of meeting with God. Only the 
priests could enter the Holy Place, and only the High-priest 
could enter the Holy of Holies. The altar, however, like 
Christ's atonement, which it typifies, is free to all, without 
exception and without distinction. 

25. What was the character of the sacrifices offered on this 
brazen altar f 

They were of two kinds, bloody and unbloody offerings or 
sacrifices, the former from the animal, and the latter taken 
from the vegetable kingdom. With both, however, the mineral, 
salt, an emblem of purity, was used (ii. 13 ; Mark ix. 49, 50). 

2G. What were the offerings taken from the anim,al kingdom, f 

These M'ere oxen, goats, sheep ; all to be without blemish, 
not under eight days, nor over three years old. Doves were 



LEVITICUS. 173 

also offered in some cases (i. 14; v. 11 ; ix. 3 ; Luke ii. 24). 
Fishes were never offered, and human sacrifices were expressly 
forbidden (xviii. 21 ; xx. 25). 

27. What were the offerings taken from the vegetable king- 
dom 9 

Meat-offerings — flour, cakes, parched corn, frankincense — 
and drink-offerings of wine. Both these were usually united, 
and were considered as an addition to the thank-offerings 
made by fire (xiv. 10-21 ; Num. xv. 5-11 ; xxviii. 7-15). 

28. Which of these two kinds of offerings took precedence of 
the other f 

The bloody sacrifices — those from the animal kingdom — as 
beiug the foundation of the other, and rendering them possible 
and acceptable (Gen. iv. 3-5 ; Heb. xi. 4). 

29. Hoiv many species of sacrifice were there ? 

Five. Following the historical order of the first seven 
chapters of Leviticus, these were the Burnt-offering, the Meat- 
offering, the Peace-offering, the Sin-offering, and the Trespass- 
offering. 

30. What is the logical order of these sacrifices, that is, the 
order in which they were actually presented at the altar ? 

The sin- or trespass-offering, the burnt-offering, the meat- 
offering, and the peace-offering (ix. 15-18). 

31. How were the sin- and trespass-offerings distinguished from 
each other ? 

Not easily. The latter may be considered as a variety of the 
former. They were both sacrifices for sin ; but in the former 
the leading idea was atonement, in the latter restitution (v. 
17-19 ; Num. vi. 11.) 

32. What other offerings are closely related to each other f 

The burnt-offering and the meat-offering ; thus giving us 
three main sacrifices : the Sin-offering, the Burnt-offering, 
and the Peace-offering. 



174 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

33. JV7iat is the distinctive idea in each of these sacrifices f 

In the sin-ofFering, atonement and forgiveness — Justifica- 
tion ; in the burnt-offering, the holocaust — Dedication on the 
part of man and Acceptance on the part of God ; in the meat- 
offering, Consecration ; in the peace-offering, the Joy of Sal- 
vation. Tlius the whole burnt-offering— dedication and ac- 
ceptance — occupied the central position, with the sin- or tres- 
pass-offering—atonement and forgiveness, as its antecedent ; 
and the peace-offering — general blessedness — as its consequent. 

34. What idea is common to all these various kinds of sacri- 
fices f 

That of substitutionary expiation. The blood was " the life," 
and the life of the victim was accepted for the life of the 
offerer (v. 18 ; xiv. 19 ; xvii. 10-14). 

35. What are the four main symbolical elem,ents in the offer- 
ing of the sacrifice on this altar ? 

(1) The presentation of the animal, (2) the killing of it, (3) 
the disposition made of the blood, and (4) the burning of the 
remains. 

36. What were the prominent features in these several sym- 
bolical acts f 

In the first two, Penitence ; in the third, Faith ; and in the 
fourth, Acceptance on the part of God. 

37. Did the faith of the Hebrew worshipper terminate upon 
Christ ? 

No ; not as a conscious experience. All that it was neces- 
sary for him to believe was that in the mercy of God, through 
the presentation of a sacrifice upon the altar, there was an 
atonement provided for him, and though he could not explain 
or understand the manner of it, it was enough for him to know 
the fact of it. 

38. What was the im,mediate and rem,ote effect of these offer- 
ings upon the worshipper f 

The immediate effect was a legal or civil expiation ; that is, 
they freed the offerer from the legal penalty of transgression ; 



LEVITICUS. 175 

while the remote or secondary effect upon the believing wor- 
shipper was spiritual — a consciousness of pardon received and 
purity experienced. 

39. How did these legal sacrifices compare with that of 
Christ ? 

They were but the shadows of the good things then to come, 
in themselves insufficient for moral renovation (Heb. ix. 9-14 
and X. 1-14). 

THE BRAZEN LAYER. 

40. What other article of furniture stood in the Court of the 
Tabernacle besides the altar of burnt-offering ? 

The Brazen Laver ; but though it stood in the court, it more 
properly appertained to the Holy Place, the special sphere of 
the priests. Only the priests were allowed to use the Laver ; 
and, standing as it did at the door of the Holy Place, so that 
they might wash their hands and their feet before entering the 
sacred precincts, its connection with the Court was only inci- 
dental (Ex. XXX. 18 ; xxxviii. 8 ; xl. 11, 30-32). 

41. To what did these repeated purificcdions enjoined by the 
law p)Oint f 

As the sacrifices of the law point to Christ and His atone- 
ment — Justification, so do the repeated purifications to man's 
need of inward purity, practical holiness, and of the cleansing 
influence of the Holy Spirit — Sanctifieation (John iii. 1-8 ; 
Titus iii. 3-7). 

CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS. 

42. Why is the account of the consecration of the priests de- 
ferred till after that of the ritual of the altar f 

Because, though the services of the priests were necessary in 
order to offer sacrifices on the altar of burnt-offering in the 
Court, their business was chiefiy with the Holy Place, into 
which they alone might enter, for the discharge of the duties 
connected with which they were alone responsible, and for 
whom it was the place of worship ; even as the altar in the 
Court was the place of worship for the people. 



176 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

43. In tvhat capacity were the priests admitted to the Holy 
Place — the House of God ? 

As the representatives of the people ; even as when they re- 
ceived the sacrifices for the altar at the hands of the worship- 
pers in the court, they acted as the representatives of God. 
Only sj^nibolically holy persons could enter the Holy Place 
(Ps. XV.). 

44. Were the priests personally any more holy than the people 
they represented f 

No ; but by their consecration they were rendered symbol- 
ically holy ; and hence it was only in their official capacity 
as representatives of the entire congregation that they entered 
the door of the Tabernacle. 

45. What ivas the order of service observed in the consecration 
of the priests? 

(1) The separation of Aaron and his sons ; (2) their investi- 
ture ; (3) their anointing ; (4) the offering of the sacrifices of 
consecration (viii.-x.). 

46. What twofold function did Aaron and his sons discharge f 

They both represented Israel before God, and typified Christ 
and His Church. The High-Priest was the type of Christ 
Himself; while the priests, Aaron's sons, typified those who, 
on account of their relationship to Christ, are admitted 
into the family of God, and enjoy all the privileges of His 
House. 

47. What did the washing of Aaron and his sons with water 
prior to their being robed in their sacred vestm,ents signify f 

This act was at once a symbol of their need of personal 
purity, and of the holiness of Jesus Christ Whom they 
typified. 

48. What ivas the signiftcance of the vestments of the High- 
priest ? 

They were each, in their way, types of the glory and the 
grace of Jesus Christ our great High-Priest, Who Himself 
needed no priestly vestments, having in His Own Person the 



LEVITICUS. 177 

great realties of which these were only the symbols (viii. ; Ex. 
xxviii. 6-14). 

49. What about the vestments of Aaron's sons, the priests 9 

But little is said about these ; though they are to be, too, 
"for glory and for beauty" (Ex. xxviii. 40-42), "of fine linen, 
clean and white," which symbolized " the righteousness of the 
saints" (Rev. xix. 8). 

50. What did the aeremony of anointing signify f 

The unction of the Holy One. For while the separation and 
cleansing signified putting oflJ" the old, and the investiture put- 
tiug on the new, the anointing meant the consecration of the 
new man by the eflTusion of the grace of the Holy Spirit (Ex. 
xxx. 22-33 ; Zech. iv.) ; while at the same time it was a type 
of Him, the Messiah, Who was pre-eminently the Anointed 
One (Matt. iii. 13-17 ; Mark i. 9-11 ; Luke iii. 21-23 ; iv. 18 ; 
John i. 29-34). 

51. Why were not Aaron and his sons anointed at the same 
time (viii. 24, 30) ? 

In order that the anointing of the High-Priest Himself and 
His " children" (Heb. i. 8-10 ; ii. 13) might follow exactly the 
order of the old ceremony of consecration as recorded in viii. 
(Cf. John iii. 34 with vii. 39 of the same Gospel, and Acts ii.). 

52. Why, in the case of the High-Priest, was the holy anoint- 
ing oil, pure and simple, used, ivhereas, in the case of the sons, 
the oil ivas used along with the blood which was upon the altar 
(viii. 12, 30) ? 

Because our Lord Jesus Christ, Whom the High-Priest 
typified, needed no atonement for Himself, as did those rep- 
resented by Aaron's sons, whom He purchased with His Own 
Blood. 

53. How was the greatness and solemnity of the ceremony of 
consecration indicated f 

By the length of time— eight days— during which the cere- 
monies continued, daily sacrifices being offered ; and in the 
fact that Moses himself, there being as yet no ordained priest- 

12 



178 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

hood, presided at the consecration, as a type of Christ, who 
is Head over all things to His Cliurch, uniting in his own per 
son all the different offices in connection with the Tabernacle. 

54. What were the three great stages in the seven-day service 
as set forth in viii. 14-29? 

Atonement, Dedication, Consecration, followed by the Feast- 
ing which was the usual sequel of the peace-ofFering (viii. 31). 

55. When did Aaron assume the prerogatives of his great 
office ? 

On the eighth day (ix.), when he took his place at the altar, 
and offered a series of sacrifices, first for himself (2-14), and 
then for the people (15-21). 

56. What followed the completion of the consecration cere- 
mony f 

The entrance of the priesthood as the representatives of 
Israel into the Holy Place, and the approval of Jehovah of 
the entire proceeding (ix. 22-24 ; Num. vi, 23-27). 

57. What did Aaron discover on his entrance into the Holy 
Place — the outer apartment of the tent of Jehovah ? 

On his right the table with the bread of presence upon it, on 
his left the golden candlestick with its seven lights, in front of 
him the golden altar with sweet incense rising from it before 
God. In other words, on his right-hand, Life ; on his left- 
hand. Light ; before him, Love— what Christ is to His peo- 
ple, and what they should be in Him to the world ;— and only 
a veil, a thin veil, between him and the Throne of God. 

58. Hovu did God show his righteous indignation against any 
wanton violation of the laws of the priesthood ? 

(1) By the fate which befell Nadab and Abihu, the sons of 
Aaron (x. 1-7) ; (2) by the absolute prohibition to the priest- 
hood of strong drink (which may have led to the sin of Nadab 
and Abihu x. 8-11) ; (3) by the scrupulous care that was taken 
to make sure that Eleazar and Ithamar, the other two sons of 
Aaron, had fulfilled their duty in regard to the sin-offering (x. 
12-20 ; Heb. x. 19-31). 



LEVITICUS. 179 



THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT. 

59. After the consecration of the priests and their entrance 
upon the duties of their office^ what is the next great subject of 
Leviticus f 

The Great Day of Atonement (xvL). This is at once tlie cen- 
tral chapter and the central subject of the Book. Indeed, there 
is no more significant chapter or subject in the whole Old Tes- 
tament. And it is in order to a ]Droper apxDreciation of the ser- 
vice of this Day of Atonement that the peculiar subject of Evil 
and its manifestations is treated of in the chapters (xi.-xv.) 
immediately preceding it ; while those which come after (xvii.- 
xxii.), containing laws for holy living, are such as naturally 
and appropriately follow the services of such a day. 

60. What was the grand characteristic of this Great Day of 
Atonement f 

It compressed into itself the distinctive features of all the 
other days of the year, all attention from beginning to end of 
the services being concentrated on the Sin-ofFering, and on the 
great Fact of Atonement, which gave significance to the ritual 
and name to the day. It was the one great day of all the 3^ear, 
a day of humiliation. It was the Crucifixion day — the Calvary 
of the Old Testament Dispensation. 

61. What was the great 7-esult of the services of this Day of 
Atonement ? 

The inner veil was drawn aside and the Holy of Holies — a 
symbol of Heaven — was opened for the entrance of the High- 
Priest — which event took place only once a year (Cf. xvi. 2, 14, 
17, 34, with Heb. ix, and x.). 

62. Whei'ein lay the necessity for two goats in making atone- 
ment for the sins of the people (xvi. 7-22) ? 

As in the cleansing of the leper (xv.) two birds were needed 
that both death and resurrection might be in the sj^mbol ; so 
here two goats are necessary', in order that both the means of 
atonement (15-19) and the result of atonement (20-22) might 
be presented in the same rite. The slain goat represents guilt 



180 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

expiated by blood, and the Scape-Goat, " Azazel" or "re- 
moval" — the removal of otfences from before the face of God. 

63. What significance was to be attached to the difference in 
the garments in which the High- Priest performed the various 
rites in the ceremonies of this great dayf 

The plain linen garments (xvi. 4), all of white, symbolical of 
holiness, and typical of the pure humanity of our blessed Lord, 
were worn by the High-Priest while engaged in making atone- 
ment (4-22) ; but when once the atonement is made, in order 
that he might tltly repiTsent our Kisen Redeemer Whose 
atoning sacrilice had been accepted, he put oft' the linen gar- 
ments and put on his gorgeous robes (23, 24), and in tliis high- 
priestly attire offered the burnt-offering for himself and for 
the people. 

64. What is the significance of this bwmt-offcring made on this 
occasion f 

To make prominent the connection between atonement and 
dedication and acceptance— the dedication of the people to God 
and the acceptance of the people by God ; and this is done by 
the presentation of the burnt-offering by the High-Priest in his 
priestly attire as the representative of the now " reconciled" 
people. 

65. Hoiv were the people prepared for a proper appreciation 
of the necessity and value of atonement as set forth in the 
ritual of this Great Day 9 

By setting forth evil as abounding everywhere around us 
(xi.), and sin as existing within us {a) as a hereditary taint 
(xii.), and (6) as a loathsome and dreadful disease^ symbolized 
by the leprosy — the disease of all diseases (xiii.), and further- 
more by representing sin as a source of frequent defilement 

(XV.). ^ 

HOLY LIVING. 

66. What are the main thoughts in the ritual observed in 
cleansing the leper (xiv.) ? 

Tliese are two : Atonement and Purification, under the 
familiar symbols of Blood and Water ; and then Death and 
Resurrection, under the striking emblems of the two birds, one 



LEVITICUS. 181 

killed, representing Christ slain, and the other allowed to fly- 
away into its native heaven, representing Christ risen from 
the dead, and the freedom of the Christian. 

67. What is the smiitwy value of these '■'■health laws of 

Hoses'^ ? 

They have been of the greatest possible benefit to tlie world 
— the moving camp in the wilderness being governed by as 
strict a sanitary code as any health commission could now 
devise. 

68. Which are the two great commandments of the Mosaic 
economy f 

The first is. Be Holy, and the second is like unto it, Be Clean 
— clean in person, clean in garments, clean in the house, clean 
in camp, clean everywhere. "Hearts sprinkled from an evil 
conscience" was always the first thing ; " bodies washed with 
pure water" was the second (Heb. x. 22) ; and throughout the 
Book of the Law these two have been by God so joined together, 
that no nian niay with impunity put them asunder. 

69. Hoiu is the close connection between atonement and obedi- 
ence in daily life set forth in these chapters f 

By the eas}^ and natural waj' in which the transition is 
made from the lofty regions oi faith into which the symbolism 
of xvi. has elevated the thoughts of the faithful, to the level 
ground of ordinary every-day duties in the chapters which 
follow. 

70. Of what do cliapters xvii.-xxii. treat? 

Divers laws for holy living. In xvii. there are regulations 
about food ; in xviii., regarding marriage and the purity of 
the family relations ; in xix. and xx. sundrj^ precepts of 
general moraUty ; and in xxi. and xxii. special regulations for 
the priests of the Lord. 

71. IIoiv does the morality of the Mosaic law compare with 
that of the New Testament f 

In many respects it approaches very near it— much nearer 
than many people are willing to admit (see xiv. 9, 10, 32-34). 



182 " THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

72. In the Law^ what relation is religion made to sustain to 
morality ? 

They are closely wedded and welded together. " I am the 
Lord your God," is continually put forth, not as an article 
of a creed, but as an unanswerable argument for strictest obedi- 
ence and the most scrupulous integrity (xi. 43-45 ; xviii.-xxii.). 

HOLY FESTIVALS. 

73. ITow are the Sacred times of Israel arranged f 
In cycles of Seven, the sacred number. 

74. How many of these cycles are there? 

Five, viz. : (1) a cycle of seven days, ending with the Sab- 
bath (xxiii. 1-8) ; (2) a cycle of seven weeks, closing with tlie 
" Feast of Weeks" — Pentecost (xxiii. 9-21) ; (3) a cycle of seven 
months, culminating in the Month of Feasts (xxiii. 23-44) ; (4) 
a cycle of seven years, closing with the Sabbatical Year (xxv. 
1-7) ; (5) and a cycle of seven sevens of years, or seven weeks of 
years, followed by the Year of Jubilee (xxv. 8-35). 

75. What are the great ideas connected with the Sabbath as 
enacted by the Lord ? 

Rest (xxiii. 3) ; Refreshment (Ex. xxiii. 12) ; Holiness (Ex. 
XX. 8) ; Joy (xxiii. 2 ; Isa. Iviii. 13, and elsewhere all through 
the Old Testament references to the Sabbath). The purpose 
of Jehovah in giving the day was beneficent ; and rightly 
understood, the Sabbath is not now, and never was, a dreary 
bondage, as some represent it and have made it, but a delight 
to all riglit-minded people. 

76. What ivas the characteristic feature of the entire lewish 
system ? 

Joyousness. The year was studded over with Feast-days ; 
while there was but one day of fasting and humiliation — the 
Great Day of Atonement. Later on in the history, when the 
sins of the people had drawn down upon them Divine chas- 
tisements in the shape of great national calamities, fast-days 
were multiplied ; but in the beginning it was not so. The 
Lord's intention was to fill the week, the month, the year, 
with joy. 



LEVITICUS. 183 

77. How may these cycles of sacred times he divided ? 

Into two series — a seventh day series and an eighth day ser- 
ies. First, there is a strictly Sabbath or seventh day series, 
culminating in the Sabbatical year ; and then, growing out cf 
it, another similar series, not strictly Sabbatical, but rather an 
eighth day series, retaining, however, the Sabbatical character- 
istics, and culminating in Jubilee. 

78. Of what is the Sabbath a type f 

Of " the rest that remaineth for the people of GOD," after the 
working time of life is over. 

79. How about the eighth day series ? 

~ The eighth day was the first of a new series ; not, however, 
as the first of an ordinary series of seven, but as an extra day 
beyond the seven. As an eighth, it was outside the Jewish 
cycles of seven. 

80. WJiat ivas the special signifieance of these eighth day cele- 
brations ? 

They had a typical significance. The Wave-sheaf morn 
(xxiii. 11) pointing to the Resurrection on the morrow after the 
Sabbath (Matt, xxviii. 1-6) ; the Pentecost, -which was (another 
significant eighth) the morrow after the Sabbath at the end of 
the seven weeks, to the New Testament or spiritual Pentecost 
which was the fiftieth day from the resurrection, and accord- 
ingly fell also on the First day of the week ; the Jubilee year 
(the third significant eighth) pointing to the Gospel Jubilee in 
which it has its fulfilment. 

81. What bearing has this upon the change of the Sabbath 
from the Seventh to the First day of the week ? 

These Sabbatical characteristics show that it was perfectly 
natural, without legislative enactment, for the Seventh day of 
the Mosaic economy to merge into the First day of tlie week 
of the Christian dispensation. The way for such change was 
prepared for in the very structure of the Sabbatical cycles of 
ancient Israel, and was, therefore, a perfectly natural one from 
the standing-point of the early Disciples. 



184 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



82. What were the three Great Festivals of the Jewish year f 
The Passover, the Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, 

at each of which all male persons over twelve years of age 
repaired to Jerusalem. 

83. What benefits accrued to the Jews from the observance of 
these festivals and convocations? 

Besides their typical significance, they were of untold bene- 
fit (1) in a national way, benefits of a social, political, and 
commercial character resulting therefrom ; and (2) in a relig- 
ious way, enjoining as they did consociation in religious wor- 
sliip ; and (3) they all tended to unite the people in a holy 
brotherhood, and to keep them separate from the heathen. 

CONCLUDING CHAPTERS. 

84. What are the contents of chapter xxvi. ? 

It opens with ricli promises in the event of obedience ; but 
further on we are appalled by the terrible threatenings which 
are as the rolling thunders which presage the coming tempest. 

85. Has the history justified these threatenings? 

Yes ; the words of warning do, in fact, become so pointed 
tliat they pass into prophecy, which was most strikingly ful- 
filled, and is even now being fulfilled, in the subsequent his- 
tory. Tlie Lord's ordinances concerning the feasts showed 
what was in His heart for His people. His warnings show 
that He knew what was in their heart towards Him. He pre- 
pared rejoicing for them. They wrought woe and desolation 
for themselves. Yet His mercy endureth forever (xxvi. 44, 45). 

86. What are the contents of chapter xxvii. ? 

It is taken up with directions for individual worship ; show- 
ing that tliough the nation as a wliole may lose its covenant 
standing, the way is always open for individuals. This word 
is never changed, "whosoever will" may come. 

87. What period of time luas covered in giving of the con- 
tents of this Book to Moses ? 

One month. Cf. Ex. xl. 17 with Num. i. 1. 

88. What are the key-thoughts of Leviticus ? 
The Way and the Walk. 



NUMBERS. 185 



NUMBERS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. Why is this Book called Numbers ? 

Because it contains an account of the double census of the 
people, the first taken when they were about to start on their 
march from Sinai (i.), and the second at the close of their 
thirty-eight years of penal wandering in the wilderness (xxvi.). 

2. How are the three Books — Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers 
— known ? 

As the ** Middle Books" of the Pentateuch ; and are so called 
because they not only occupy numerically the middle of the 
volume of "the Law," but because they stand together in a 
closer organic relation, so that the three may be regarded as a 
unity, having a common relation to Genesis on the one side 
and to Deuteronomy on the other. 

3. Hoiv do the ^''Middle Books''^ stand related to Genesis and 
Deuteronomy ? 

In Genesis we have the soil, and the seed which was planted 
in it ; in the Middle Books, the plant of grace, developing into 
the tree of righteousness ; and in Deuteronomy, the directions 
for gathering the fruit which might be reasonably expected to 
grow on so noble a tree. 

4. Hoiu are these Middle Books related to the offices of Christ 
as Mediator f 

The historical part of Exodus — the Exodus proper— ending 
with the arrival of the people at Mount Sinai, and the re- 
mainder of the Book consisting of a series of revelations given 
from the top of the Mount, the second, and much the larger, 
part of the Book of Exodus is Prophetical in its character ; in 
Leviticus the Priestly law is given from the Tabernacle, in 
which the priestly privileges of the people are set forth ; and 
in the Book of Numbers the armies of the King are mustered 
and go forth to establish His kingdom — the kingdom of the 
holy nation — in the Holy Land. Hence in Exodus the people 



186 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

are called to Obedience ; in Leviticus to Worship ; and in 
Numbers to Service in the Field. 

5. To what service corresponding to that of Numbers are the 
hosts of the Lord under the Neiv Covenant called f 

The INIissionary service — the conquest of the world for 
Christ. It is to this great work the Church of the New 
Testament is called — the conquest of Canaan by the sword 
being a type of the conquest of the world by the Word. 

6. How does the actual history in Numbers correspond with 
the Divine idea respect i7ig the people of Israel ? 

The two are in the greatest contrast. The Divine idea is that 
of the hosts of Jehovah marching to conquest; wliile the 
actual history is tliat of a people who failed of their high 
calling, and who, in consequence, became a horde of wanderers 
in tlie wilderness. 

7. Did the failure of the people interfere with the accomplish- 
ment of J EHOVAH^s 2^ mpose .^ 

Only in the way of its postponement. Another generation 
was raised up which did what the tlien existing generation 
proved themselves unfit to accomplish. Man's failures can 
never thwart Jehovah's purposes (xiv. 21). 

CONTENTS. 

8. How may the contents of Numbers be divided ? 

Into seven parts or sections, as follows : (1) the Camp (i.-vi. ; 
(2) the Marcli (vii.-xiv.) ; (3) the Wilderness Wandering (xv.- 
xix.) ; (4) the New Departure (xx.-xxi.) ; (5) Balaam (xxii.- 
xxv.) ; (6) the Second Muster (xxvi.) ; (7) Miscellaneous Mat- 
ters (xxvii.-xxxvi.). 

THE CAMP. 

9. WJiat is the difference in the numbering of i. and ii.? 

The first is tlie numbering of tlie people according to their 
pedigrees, and the second according to their standards, as the 
hosts of Israel. 



NUMBERS. 187 

10. How luere the sacred charade}' and Divine relations of the 
host maintained and made manifest'? 

These were rendered conspicnons by the importance attached 
to the Levitical and priestly arrangements in the order of en- 
campment (iii.), and of marcli (iv.). 

11. How was the camp constructed? 

With the Tabernacle — the embodiment of the Sinai revela- 
tion in Exodus — in tlie centre ; with the inner square of 
priests and Levites — Leviticus ; and with the outer square com- 
posed of tlie hosts of Israel, whose setting forth to war is the 
subject of the Book of Numbers. 

12. What part did the tribe of Levi perform in the warfare 
of Israel ? 

Though not engaged in actual fighting, the people were not 
allowed to forget that the Worship of the Sanctuary was quite 
as essential as Service in the Field to the success of the armies 
of Israel (iv. 23, 30 and viii. 24, 25, margin ; Cf. Ex. xvii. 11). 

13. How was the necessity for the preservation of the special 
sacredness of the camp emphasized ? 

By the special enactments looking to the keeping of the 
camp pure from all defilement (v.). 

14. What p>rovision was made for cases of sj^ecial consecra- 
tion ? 

While the whole camp must be a consecrated camp, the en- 
tire army a consecrated army, there are occasions when service 
of peculiar difficulty, and calling for special qualifications, is 
required, and to provide for such emergencies the law of the 
Nazarite is promulgated (vi.). 

15. How are the regulations for the camp brought to a close? 

As beautifully as appropriate!}^, with the priestly benedic- 
tion, pronounced by Aaron and his sons in the Name of Jeho- 
vah of Hosts (vi. 22-26). 

16. How is the unity of the camp signified ? 

This is strikingly done by the Name of Jehovah being put 
upon all, according to the Divine directions (vi. 27). 



188 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

FROM SINAI TO KADESH. 

17. What prepai'ations were made for setting out on the mareh 
of co7iquest "? 

A series of free-will offerings (1) on the part of the princes 
(vii.), and (2) on the part of the people (viii.). 

18. I'or what purpose were these offerings made f 

Not for the expenses of the campaign, but for the Lord's 
House and Worship ; the idea being, that the people of their 
own free will should give for the Service of the Sanctuary, 
while He of His exhaustless resources will take care of the 
service in the field. 

19. What was the difference in the character of the princes' 
and thepcojyle^s offering ? 

That of the princes consisted of valuable things foY the service 
of the Sanctuary ; while the people offered consecrated persons 
for the same service, the tribe of Levi, representing the first- 
born (iii. 40-51), being the people's offering to the Lord (viii. 
15). In addition, however, to the offering of the Levites, the 
people also assumed all those charges which were necessary to 
the maintenance of the entire tribe, so that they might be 
"free from worldly cares and avocations," and devote them- 
selves wholly to the service of the Lord. Hence the people's 
offering, as was fit, was not of men only, but of means also. 

20. What was the next act in the preparation for the arduous 
expeditio)i on which the people were about to start out f 

The celebration of the Passover (ix. 1-14). The Passover was 
the starting-point of Israel's national history, and it is now to 
be the starting-point of their March to the Land of Promise. 
What the Cross of Christ, the Lord's Supper, is to the New 
Testament Church, the Passover was to the Old Testament 
Church. Hence the importance of its observance on such an 
occasion as the start for Canaan from Mount Sinai. 

21. How luere the movements of the camp to be regulated f 

By means of the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire (ix. 15-23) ; 
teaching, as it does, the importance of implicit and unqualified 
submission to the Divine guidance. 



NUMBERS. 189 

22. How was the Divine luill as indicated hy the Pillar of 
Cloud made known to the host f 

By the blowing of two silver trumpets (x. 1-10) — types of the 
preaching of the Gospel. 

23. Did the request of Moses to Hobab the Midianite (x. 29- 
32) betray any lack of faith on the 2:>art of the great Leader 9 

No ; for it is a constant lesson of Scripture that dependence 
on the Divine direction does not supersede the use of natural 
means (Ex. xviii.). 

24. What light do the martial ivords of Moses (x. 35, 36) shed 
upon the idea of this Book ? 

They show that it is not that of a journey through a wilder- 
ness, but of a warlike expedition, an army advancing to battle 
and victory. 

25. What was the result of the advance of this arm,y so care- 
fully numbered and marshalled at the base of Sinai f 

Failure— utter, shameful failure. The Jiistory of the wilder- 
ness on the other side of Sinai (Ex. xv. 23-28) was repeated on 
this (xi.-xiv.). 

2.Q. How ivas the march accentuated f 

By a series of niurmurings and complainings, and conse- 
quent judgments. There was Taberah (xi. 1-3) ; Kibroth-hat- 
taavali (xi. 4-35) ; the sedition of Miriam and Aaron (xii. 1- 
16) ; the discouraging report of the majority of the spies which 
resulted in the unbelief, apostasy, and mutiny of the entire 
host (xiii. 1-xiv. 1-10). 

27. What luas the consequence of this discreditable and-unsol- 
dierly conduct on the part of the people? 

The entire generation, with the two exceptions of Caleb and 
Joshua (xiv. 30-38), was rejected as unworthy of entering into 
the Promised Land, and was sentenced to Forty (exactly 
thirty-eight) years' wandering in the wilderness. Hencefor- 
ward, instead of an armj^ of the Lord, they are no more than 
so many Bedouins of the Desert (xiv. 11-39). 



190 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

28. }V7iat effect had this sentence of the Lord upon the people f 

They changed their minds (xiv. 40) ; but tlieir repentance 
was ineffectual, being too late. Moses warned them that the 
course they had resolved on would but add to their guilt and 
end in defeat ; but it was no use, they would persist. They 
would not go trusting in God ; and now they will go trusting 
in themselves, and with what fatal results the passage records 
(xiv. 40-45). 

THE FORTY YEARS. 

29. What do the forty years include ? 

The whole time between the Exodus and the Entrance ; but 
it has special reference to the thirty-seven or thirty-eight years 
spent by the Israelites in penal servitude in the desert (Ps. xcv. 
8-11 ; Heb. iii.). 

30. How are the forty years accounted for f 

Two months were occupied in the journey to Sinai (Ex. xix. 
1), i*i\\ months in the giving of the Sinai revelation (Ex. xl. 17), 
and one in prescribing the ritual of Leviticus (Num. i. 1), mak- 
ing one year and one mouth in all. Deuteronomy begins with 
the eleventh month of the fortieth year (Deut. i. 3) ; so that 
the entire Book of Numbers covers a space of thirty-eight years 
and nine months. 

31. What part of Numbers is occupied with the history of these 
eight and thirty years f 

Only five chapters (xv.-xix.). Ten chapters about the do- 
ings of twenty days in the beginning of the Book ; and in the 
middle of it we have only these five about the doings of thirty- 
eight j^ears ! 

32. What is the character of the history of these thirty-eight 
years f 

Only two events are related as having taken place in all this 
period ; and these anything but creditable to the people — the 
case of the Sabbath breaker (xv. 32-36), and the rebellion of 
Korah and his company (xvi. and xvii.). Practically, the 
thirtj'^-eight j^ears are passed over in silence. These years in 
the history of the nation are to all intents and purposes a 
blank. 



NUMBERS. 191 

33. What is the significance of this silence respecting this 
period ? 

That only when a people are living unto God, do they in 
His sight live at all. God has but little, if anj^ space in the 
Book of His remembrance for the doings of the unregenerate 
and worldly, and for those even of His own people who fail to 
do the work He has appointed them. By their mutiny, their 
rebellion against the Lord (xiv. 9), the people of Israel could 
no longer be reckoned as His hosts ; therefore the memory of 
that fruitless generation has been allowed, even as that of the 
wicked, to rot (Prov. x. 7). 

34. What great truth is illustrated in xv. ? 

The unchangeablen^ss of the Divine purposes, notwithstand- 
ing all the failures of those who have been honored with an 
appointment to carry them out. The Lord had just told the 
people that not one of them would ever set foot in the land of 
their habitations ; and yet the very next word is, " when ye 
be come into the land" (xv. 2) ! Others were raised up to do the 
work and enjoy the honor that unbelieving generation had 
put from themselves (xiv. 20, 21). 

35. What was the ostensible gi'ievance that led to the rebellion 
of Korah and his company f 

The assumption of Aaron and his family to an exclusive 
priesthood in a nation which was called to be " a kingdom of 
priests" (Cf. xvi. with Ex. xix. 6). 

36. ITow was the matter permanently set at rest ? 

By the proceeding about the rods (xvii.) ; while xviii. laj^s 
down the law in detail in regard to the question in dispute. 
There is in xviii. an adjustment of the priestly and Levitical 
duties (1-7) ; a setting forth of the rights and privileges of the 
priests (8-19) ; and of the perquisites of the Levites, with their 
corresponding obligations (21-32). 

37. What is the significance of the ordinance of the Red 
Heifer detailed in xix. ? ^" 

Besides affording a means of purification ready to hand for 
any who might be defiled by necessary contact with the dead 



192 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

or other unclean things, it is as full as any part of the ordi- 
nary ritual, of important truth concerning the way of cleans- 
ing through the great Sacrifice of the New Testament. 

THE NEW DEPARTURE. 

38. What ivas the time and place of this New Departure ? 

It was in the fortieth year, when the old generation had 
almost passed away and the curse expired, that at Kadesh, 
where the sentence had been pronounced which doomed their 
fathers to their dreary years of wandering, the camp is reor- 
ganized, and preparations made for entering a second time on 
the march to Canaan, where a new generation must vindicate 
the claim of Israel to be indeed " the hosts of the Lord," by 
taking possession of the Land of Promise (xx. i). 

39. How does this new departure begin and end f 

It begins with gloom and ends with glory. The 20th chap- 
ter, which records the commencement of the period, is one of 
the saddest in the Book. It begins with the death of Miriam 
and ends with the death of Aaron ; while between the two 
events, we have the old story of Murmuring on the part of the 
people, and Mercy on the part of God, but with this sad ad- 
dition, that Moses himself has a fall— a fall so serious that it 
leads to his own, as well as Aaron's, exclusion from the Land 
of Promise. 

40. What loere the subsequent exp>eriences of the people on 
their march to Canaan f 

Their (1) victory over King Arad (xxi. 1-3) ; (2) their deliver- 
ance from death because of their murmuring and unbelief, by 
means of the Brazen Serpent (xxi. 4-9) ; (3) their discovery of 
a well in the midst of the surrounding desolation (xxi. 10-18) ; 
(4) their victory over Shion, King of the Amorites, and the 
mighty Og, King of the giants of Bashan. 

BALAAM. 

41. What opposition does Israel next encounter f 

The alliance formed between the Moabites and the Midian- 
ites, who make common cause against the now victorious hosts 
of Jehovah (xxii. 1-4). 



NUMBERS. 193 

42. What measures do these allies adoj)t against Israel ? 

Believing that the triumphs of Israel over Shion and Og 
were due to Divine, not human power, they sent for Balaam, 
a great prophet of the far East, whose reputed power of draw- 
ing down blessings or curses from above was so great, that the 
confederates hoped that through him they could neutralize tlie 
peculiar power wielded by Moses, as the prophet of Jehovah, 
God of Israel (xxii. 5-7). 

43. What ivas the character of Balaam ? 

He was an unprincipled man of large attainments for his 
time, who, like an attorney, was ready to be retained on which- 
ever side promised the largest fee. He threw about his move- 
ments an air of mystery that led his deluded clients to sup- 
pose he was possessed of extraordinary power. His conduct 
was of the meanest ; while his words were of the noblest that 
ever came from mortal lips. Besides what is said of him here 
in Numbers (xxii.-xxiv.), the apostle Peter paints him to the 
life (2 Pet. ii. 15). 

44. What was the result of the Balaam episode ? 

The very opposite of what the enemies of Israel hoped ; for 
instead of cursing, he blessed them and foretold in glowing 
imagery their glorious future (xxii.-xxiv.). 

45. How did Balaam at last show the reed wickedness of his 

character ? 

He took a prominent part in seducing the children of Israel 
to those iniquitous practices referred to in xxv. (see xxxi. 16) ; 
and after doing the Devil's work with a singleness of purpose 
he liad never shown before, at last utterly perished in his own 
corruption (xxxi. 8). 

46. How many 2^^^ophecies did Balaam utter resioeciing 
Israel f 

Four : the first (xxiii. 9, 10) assigns the reason why he can- 
not curse the people — their isolation among the nations ; the 
second (xxiii. 14-24), the leading thought of which is the 
presence of the Lord as a source of continual blessedness, 
safety, and strength to Israel ; the third (xxiv. 1-9), the finest 

13 



194 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

of all, the central ideas of which are prosperity and victory ; 
while the fourth and last (xxiv. 15-24) — the Star and Sceptre 
prophecy — occupies the same position in the Mosaic Era tliat 
the Shiloh prophecy (Gen. xlix. 8-12) holds in the Patriarchal. 



THE SECOND MUSTER. 

47. When and where did this second numbering of the people 
take place f 

Towards the close of the fortieth year in the plains of Moab, 
on this side Jordan, over against Jericho (xxvi. 1-4). 

48. How did this second census compare with the first f 

As to numbers the aggregate was about the same (xxvi. 51), 
though in material it is an entirely different army from that 
which was numbered at the base of Sinai nearly forty years 
before. Of all that host only two persons remain, Joshua the 
Son of Nun, and Caleb, the Son of Jephunneh (xxvi. 63-65). 

49. What was the object of this second census f 

To afford an equitable basis for the distribution of the land 
of Canaan among the people (xxvi. 52 ; xxvii. 1-11). 

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 

50. What ivas the first thing done after this second census was 
taken ? 

The appointment of a successor to Moses, whose death was 
soon to take place (xxvii. 12-23). 

51. What are the contents of xxviii.-xxx. ? 

Ritual reminders framed with a view to the condition of the 
people after they should be settled in Canaan. 

52. WJiat is the subject o/xxxi ? 

The war against the Midianites, undertaken as a judicial 
punishment for the terrible wickedness of the tribe in the 
matter of Peor (16). It was laid on Moses as a last duty before 
he" was gathered to his people (2). 



NUMBERS. 195 

53. What is the subject of xxxii. ? 

The suing for, and the settlement of, the inheritance of the 
children of Reuben and Gad on this side Jordan. 

54. What is the importance of the itinerary of xxxiii. ? 

Its chief value lies in the efforts to fix the route of tlie Israel- 
ites ; but the difficulty of identifying the places renders the 
task very doubtful and unsatisfactory. 

55. With what are the concluding chapters of the Book 
(xxxiv.-xxxvi.) taken up f 

With directions, given through Moses, as to the distribution 
of the land. 

56. For what is the Book of Numbers remarkable f 

It abounds with the most signal displays of God's judgments 
against sin ; not only towards the h-eathen, as Shion and Og, 
but towards His own chosen people, Moses and Aaron them- 
selves not escaping the penalty of their ill-advised actions. 

57. What are the prominent types of Christ recorded in 
Numbers f 

Tlie intercession of Moses at Taberah (xi. 1-3) ; at Hazeroth 
for Miriam (xii. 13) ; and at Kadesh-barnea for the whole peo- 
ple (xiv. 19) ; the atonement of Aaron (xvi. 46) ; as also the 
Brazen Serpent (xxi. 7 ; Cf. John iii. 14), and the Cities of Ref- 
uge (xxxv. 9-34). 

58. What other Scriptw^cs m,ay be profitably read in connec- 
tion with the Book of Numbers f 

Psalms Ixxviii., cv., cvi., cxxxvi., and 1 Cor. x., suggest much 
practical improvement from the events recorded in this Book. 

59. What are the oniraculous events recorded in Numbers f 

Eight: Tlie burning at Taberah (xi. 1-3); the supply of 
quail (xviii. 23) ; the fate of Korah and his company (xii. 31- 
35) ; the budding of Aaron's rod (xvii. 1-17) ; the bringing 
water out of the rock at Meribah (xx. 7-12) ; the healing of the 
people poisoned by the fier^^ serpents (xxi. 7-9) ; the giving the 
power of speech to Balaam's ass (xxii. 22-33) ; Balaam's proph- 
ecies (xxii.-xxiv.). 



196 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

60. Is there any poetry in Numbers ? 

Yes ; if the Well Song of Israel (xxi. 16-18) may be so called, 
and Balaam's parables (xxiii., xxiv.). 

61. What are the chief lessons of the Book of Nmnhers ? 

It teaches the sin and evil of Unbelief, and that Warfare is 
the necessary Condition of Pilgrimage and Possession. God's 
worshippers are warriors. 

62. How may the Book of Nwnbers he characterized f 

As the History of Israel— the Church of God— in the Wilder- 
ness. 

63. What were the results of the ivilderness experience f 

It gave to the Hebrew people (1) certain Institutions — the 
Tabernacle and its ritual, and their three great annual Festi- 
vals : the Passover, which commemorated the Exodus, Pente- 
cost, the giving of the Law, and that of Tabernacle, the 
out-door life in the Desert ; (2) National Unity — from twelve 
unorganized tribes they came to possess a distinct national 
existence ; (3) Individual Liberty — instead of a race of slaves 
they became the freedmen of Jehovah ; (4) Military Discipline 
— from a spiritless mass they became a conquering host ; (5) 
Religious Education— they were brought back from the idola- 
tries of Egypt to the faith of their fathers. 



DEUTERONOMY. 

1. Why is this Book called Deuteronomy ? 

Deuteronomy means the Second Law ; and this Book is so 
called because its contents are in substance, with some altera- 
tions and modifications called for by the altered circumstances, 
the same as the Law in Exodus ; though its form and purpose 
are quite different. 

2. What connection is there between Numbers and Deuteron- 
omy f 

There is no gap between the two. The history j^roceeds 
right on. In the end of Numbers we have the last Acts of 



DEUTERONOMY. 197 

Moses, and in Deuteronomy we have his last Words. The 
Second Muster in the end of the former prepares tlie way for 
the Second Law in the latter. 

3. How may the difference between the literary style of Deu- 
teronomy and other previous Books of the Pentateuch be 
accounted for f 

In the Sinai revelations Moses was but the amanuensis, the 
reporter of what God said ; hence the laws of Exodus are in 
the very words of Jehovah Himself. In Deuteronomy, on 
the other hand, Moses is himself an inspired speaker, and so 
he addresses himself to the people in a style peculiarly his own. 

4. What are the contents of Deuteronomy ? 

The Book consists of three spirited Addresses which Moses 
delivers to the people as his parting charge (i.-xxx.) ; his dying 
Song (xxxi., xxxii.) ; and an Appendix to the Pentateuch 
(xxxiii., xxxiv.). 

MOSES'S FAREWELL. 

5. What is the gist of this Farewell Address of Moses ? 

In it he urges the people, with all the force of liis mighty 
nature, to be mindful of the Lord That redeemed them, to be 
obedient to His law, and faithful to His Covenant. Deliver- 
ance from Egypt is constantly urged as a motive to obedience. 
Israel about to possess the Land, are reminded that this— 
Obedience — is the condition of entrance and permanent posses- 
sion. 

6. What is the pith and point of the first address (i.-iv.) ? 

In this Moses dwells on the historical facts of the journey to 
the point which the people had now reached, and at its close, 
in the most earnest and eloquent language, enjoins upon them 
faithfulness and obedience in the years that are to come. 

7. What is the characteristic of the second address f 

It is much the longest of the three, and as the first is based 
on the history and experience of the people, this one is founded 
on the Law, and therefore it may be considered as the Deuter- 
onomy Proper (v.-xxvi.). 



198 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

8. '[VTiat is a striking feature of this " Second Law''^ ? 

It is distinctly prophetic in its cliaracter, carrying the mind 
onward to events which are still in the future. In this respect 
it occupies a position in the Pentateuch very much like that 
of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Apocalypse in the 
New Testament. 

9. What is the peculiarity of the third address f 

It is comparatively brief, being about as long as the first ad- 
dress, and is based upon the covenant transaction (Ex. xxiv. 
1-8), which followed the giving of the Decalogue with the 
"statutes and judgments." As the First Law had been fol- 
lowed by a solemn ratification of tlie Covenant wlien the altar 
and the twelve pillars were erected at the base of Sinai, so 
Moses gave direction for a still more solemn ratification when 
the people should come into the land (xxvii.-xxx.). 

10. Is tlicre anijthin(j of a prophetic nature in this closing 
address f 

Yes ; looking forward to the people's future, his eye (xxix.) 
rests upon the sad prospect of coming days of unfaithfulness 
and disobedience ; and his solemn warnings almost insensibly 
pass into the form of terrible jirophecies of coming woe. And 
yet while pronouncing judgment, his clear eye looking into 
the still more distant future, he speaks of the mercy that 
awaits the people (xxx. 1-3). 

11. ITow does this farewell address close 9 

With a series of " exceeding great and precious promises," a 
repetition of earnest warning, and that intense protestation 
and appeal recorded in xxx. 19-20. 

12. I7i tiJfiat chapter may the gist of the whole he found? 

The twenty-ninth^ where the Covenant with God is set forth, 
and where Moses in a few words condenses the argument of 
the entire Book. 

13. What principles of obedience are herein set forth ? 

These are seven : (1) The Fatherhood of God and His pro- 
prietorship in His people ; (2) the duty of separation unto 
Him and His Service ; (3) Worship to be localized and cen- 



DEUTERONOMY. 199 

tralized ; (4) All idolatrous relics to be destroyed ; (5) All idola- 
trous acts to be treated as Treason against God, punished as 
capital crimes ; (6) All ethical relations to be regulated by 
God's Law ; (7) The Brotherhood of man implied in the 
Fatherhood of God. 

THE SWAN SONG OF MOSES. 

14. What is the preface to this Song f 

The announcement on the part of Moses of his approaching 
death, adding appropriate encouragements and warnings, and 
also the commission (19) to write a song to teach the children 
of Israel as a witness for the Lord against them (xxxi.). 

15. What are the characteristics of this Song f 

It is one of surpassing beauty and poetic power, full of 
grandeur and sublimity (xxxii. 1-43). 

16. What is the subject of this Soiig f 

Jehovah and His people (3-6)— the Faithfulness of the One 
and the unfaithfulness of the other. 

17. Hoiv is the theme develojyed in the Song f 

Under three heads : (1) wliat Israel owes to God (7-14) ; (2) 
How Israel will pay the debt (15-18) ; (3) How God will requite 
Israel (19-44). 

18. Is this Song to be limited to its original design as a witness 
against Israel^ or has it a tuider scope f 

It has a wider scope. It is prophetic in its character and 
takes a glance into the far away future. Its x^'ophecies as re- 
gards God's ancient people are already fulfilled ; but its wit- 
ness is just as true against all peoples and nations in all times, 
who enjoy Israel's privileges, and follow Israel's sins. It was 
"written for our learning," too, in this western world, and in 
these latter times. 

19. Wliat follows the Song in xxxii. ? 

An exhortation to faithfulness (44-47) and the direction to 
Moses to prepare for his death (48-52). This concludes that 
portion of the Pentateuch of which Moses was the author. 



200 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

APPENDIX. 

20. 0/ what does this appendix consist? 

The chapter (xxxiii.) which contains the *' blessing wherewith 
Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his 
death," just as Jacob did (Gen. xlix.) before his death. 

21. What is the character of this chapter of blessing? 

Like the dying Song (xxxii.), it is rich in poetry and full of 
majesty. It is tlie crown of the Mosaic theology, which is mar- 
vellously comprehensive and complete — almost a complete 
revelation — a veritable Gospel, when properly understood, in 
itself. 

22. What are the thoughts luhich fill the soul of the great 
JPro2^het in his last moments f 

The first of them is this : " There is none like unto the God 
of Israel " (xxxiii. 26) ; and the second is like unto it : " There 
is none like unto the Israel of God" (xxxiii. 29). Israel's God 
and God's Israel — the Saviour and the saved — the two great 
factors of the Mosaic Era. - 

23. What are the contents of the concluding chapter ? 

It gives an account of the death and burial of, and the 
mourning of the people for, Moses, the succession of Joshua, 
and a eulogy on Moses (xxxiv. 1-12). 

24. Btj whom was the appendix written? 

It is not known, but obviously by some later hand than 
Moses, as he could not have recorded his own death and the 
mourning which followed it. It is the work of the editor of 
Moses's literary remains. 

25. Have we any instance in our own times of any literary 
ivork going by the name of an author who only executed a port 
of it? 

Yes ; the commentary of Matthew Henry was only written 
by him as far as Acts, the remainder being the work of the 
continuator; yet the whole goes by the name of "Henry's 
Commentary." 



DEUTERONOMY. 201 

26. Are there any facts mentioned in Deuteronomy that are 
not recorded in Numbers or Exodus f 

Yes ; the statement concerning the destruction of the men 
that followed Baal-peor (iv. 3, 4), and that about the durability 
of the people's clothes and shoes (viii. 4 ; xxix. 5), are peculiar 
to this Book. 

27. What are some remarkable peculiarities of this Book of 
Deuteronomy 9 

1. As Leviticus is composed almost entirely of the very words 
of Jehovah Himself, so is this Book almost wholly the words 
of Moses himself. 

2. It was (with the obvious exception of the last chapter) not 
only written, but spoken by Moses to all Israel, immediately 
before his death. 

3. The general outlines of it, if not the whole Book, were to 
be written upon stones, set up immediately on entering the 
Promised Land (xxvii. 2, 3, 8). 

4. The king (so far into futurity was Moses permitted to see !) 
was to write a copy of it with his own hand, and to read 
therein all the daj^s of his life (xvii. 18, 19). 

5. It was to be read publicly by the priests every seventh 
year at the Feast of Tabernacles, in the hearing of all Israel 
(xxxi. 9-13). 

6. It was by a reference to this Book that our blessed Saviour 
answered the suggestions and repelled the assaults of Satan 
(Cf. viii. 3 ; vi. 13, 16, with Matt. iv. 4, 7, 10). 

7. The Advent of the Messiah is here more clearly and ex- 
plicitly foretold than in any of the preceding Books, as the 
completion of the Mosaic Dispensation (Cf. xviii. 15-22 with 
John i. 45 ; vi. 14 ; Acts iii. 22 ; vii. 37). 

28. What is the key-thought of Deuteronomy ? 
Obedience. 



202 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE MORAL LAW. 

Exodus xx. 1-17. 

1. What is (he fundamental idea of law ? 

Subjection to recognized and regularly constituted authority. 
It involves the notion of two parties— a superior imposing it, 
and an inferior obeying it. 

2. How are laws divided ? 

According to their source, into Divine and human : the laws 
of God and the laws of man. 

3. How are the laws of God divided f 

Into two classes : Natural and Revealed laws. 

4. What arc God's natural laws? 

These are also of two kinds — physical and moral. 

5. What is God's natural law moral f 

That sense of right and wrong, embedded by the Creator in 
the constitution of man, as a rational and responsible creature, 
according to which his character is to be formed, and his rela- 
tions to God and his fellow-man are to be guided and controlled. 

6. What is God's revealed law ? 

That code of laws, {a) moral, (6) ceremonial, and (c) civil, 
promulgated by the Supreme Lawgiver Himself through 
Moses at Mount Sinai, and which are recorded in the Books 
of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

7. How are these laws commonly distinguished f 

The moral law or Decalogue is by way of eminence called 
Tlie Law, and the ceremonial and civil enactments, the Insti- 
tutes of Moses, or the Mosaic law. 

8. In ivhat various ways ivas the pre-eminence of the Moral 
Law over the ceremonial and civil enactments shown f 

(1) In the surpassing display's of the Divine Majesty attend- 
ing its promulgation (Ex. xix. 10-25) ; (2) in the august pream- 



THE MORAL LAW. . 203 

ble by which its delivery was prefaced (Ex. xx. 1, 2) ; (3) it was 
spoken immediately by the voice of God in the hearing of the 
people, as the other departments of the Mosaic code were not 
(Ex. XX. 1, 22 ; Levit. i. 1 ; Deut. iv. 12) ; (4) it was written, not 
on parchment, and by Moses, as was the rest of the law, but 
upon stone-tablets and by the finger of Jehovah Himself (Ex. 
xxxi. 18) ; (5) it constituted the substance of the covenant with 
the Jewish people formed at Sinai (Ex. xxiv. 3-1 ; xxviii. ; Deut. 
iv. 13) ; (6) its delivery was attended by a congress of angels 
(Deut. xxxiii. 2 ; Acts vii. 53 ; Heb. ii. 2) ; (7) the tables of stone 
on which it was written were deposited in the Ark of the Cove- 
nant — which, as the very heart and centre of the entire Jewish 
religion was placed in the Holiest of All, in the Tabernacle 
(Ex. XXV. 17 ; xxxvii. 6 ; Heb. ix. 3-6) ; (8) besides our Lord 
and His Apostles always point to it as comprising all that in 
the strict and proper sense was to be esteemed the Law (Matt, 
xix. 16 ; Luke x. 25 ; xviii. 18 ; Gal. v. 14). 

9. WJiat is the difference between the Divine Law, natural and 
revealed f 

None whatever. The law of nature is really the moral law, 
though a clear and express revelation of the same was rendered 
necessary in consequence of man's refusal to be governed by 
the law written on his heart (Rom. ii. 14, 15 ; vii. 7-25 ; Gal. 
iii. 19). 

10. What are the grand characteristics of the Decalogue f 

Brevity, simplicity, comprehensiveness, and symmetrical ar- 
rangement. 

11. As a summary of religious and m^oral duty, how is the 
Decalogue coinnionly regarded 9 

Both as to its method and substance the best intellects of the 
world pronounce it Perfect. Neither by addition, subtraction, 
nor transposition, can it in any wise be improved. It enjoins 
all duties and forbids all sins. 

12. What does this perfection of the Moral Law argue as to 

its origin f 

That it is Divine. The Egj-ptians and the adjacent nations 
were idolaters ; so were the Greeks and Romans ; and the 



204 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

wisest and best of the Greeks and Romans never gave a code 
of religious and moral duty like this — surpassing, as it does, 
the wisdom and philosophy of the most enlightened ages. 
Living at a period comparatively barbarous in the midst of 
such surroundings, and with an Egyptian education, it was 
impossible for Moses to have risen so far above his age and 
environment as to have himself originated a law in which all 
subsequent ages can detect no flaw. That it was of super- 
natural origin, as the Bible itself declares is, therefore, beyond 
all question. It is " the finger of God." 

13. How is the Moj-al Law divided f 

Into two great parts, corresponding to the two tables on 
which it was written — the first comprehending our duty to 
God, and the second our duty to our fellow-creatures — here, as 
well as in the Gospel, religion being made the foundation and 
root of morality. 

14. What order of thought is observed in the Moral Law ? 

The first table begins with the honoring of God in the heart, 
and proceeds through words to deeds ; while the second table 
begins with conduct, forbidding the injury of our neighbor in 
person, in family, in property, in name and reputation, and 
then proceeds through words to the thoughts of the heart. 

15. How are the Ten Commandments apportioned between 
the two tables f 

On this subject there is a diversity of opinion, Roman Catho- 
lics arbitrarily and blasphemously omitting the second entirely, 
and splitting the last into two, placing only three in the first 
table and seven in the last ; while the division most commonly 
adopted by Protestants is that of four in the first and six in 
the second table. 

16. Ls there any objection to this Protestant division f 

Yes ; it does not fall in with the Divine idea of harmony, in 
accordance with which we would naturally expect the division 
into two great parts to consist of five commands each — two 
equal, incomplete halves. 



THE MORAL LAW. 205 

17. What reasons may he assigned in favor of such a division 
of the Decalogue into two equal parts ? 

There are three : (1) the significance attached to the number 
ten in which the whole are comprised ; (2) tlie testimony of 
the Jewish historians Joseplius and Philo, tliat such actually 
was the division ; and (3) the nature of the Fifth command- 
ment, which, partaking, as it does, partly of the Divine and 
partly of the human, fits it to be the concluding one of the 
first table, and, at the same time, the transition between the 
two. 

18. How does it appear that the fifth commandment partakes 
of this twofold character of Divine and human f 

Parents, magistrates, and all in authority — all of which are 
included in it— are representatives of God, to whom He dele- 
gates a portion of His authority, and for whom He conse- 
quently exacts a portion of the honor due to Himself. 

19. What additional reason may be assigned for including 
the fifth commandment in the first table 9 

It is to the commands of the first table, and to these alone, 
that there are attached special reasons for God's exacting and 
man's giving the obedience required. The fifth command- 
ment belongs to this class. 

20. What two grand rules are to be observed in interpreting 
the Decalogue f 

1. That the same precept which forbids the external acts of 
sin, forbids likewise the inward desires and motions of sin in 
the heart. 2. That the negative commands include in them 
the injunction of the contrary duties, and the positive com- 
mands the prohibition of the contrary sins, so that in each 
there is something required as well as something forbidden. 

THE DECALOGUE. 
PREFACE. 

21. By what was the promulgation of the Ten Words pre- 
ceded f 

An august preamble or preface (Ex. xx. 2). 



206 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

22. What is the purport of this preface f 

It gives the reason for obedience before the law itself is pro- 
claimed. It is, in fact, the Gospel before the Law. The foun- 
dation of the whole is Grace. The law is not given as a means 
of Salvation, but— the Sequel of salvation — as a means of train- 
ing those who are alreadj' in a salvable state. It was not given 
to the Hebrews in Egypt, as a condition of getting out of it ; 
but to the Lord's freedmen, as a guide to their individual and 
national life. 

23. Whij, as a reason for obedience, did not Jehovah p?-o- 
claim Himself as Lord of Heaven and Earth f 

Because it is not hy the display of His greatness, but of His 
Goodness, and especially of His Redeeming Love, that God 
would lead men to repentance, and incline their hearts to keep 
His law (Rom. ii. 4). 

THE FIRST TABLE. 
FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

24. Whctt is the gist of the First Commandment f 

It is the proclamation of the sovereignty and supremacy of 
Jehovah as the only true object of worship and obedience. 

25. What rendered the First Commandm^ent necessary ? 

The polytheism of the heathen world, into the belief and 
practice of which the Hebrew people had fallen in Egypt. It, 
therefore, forbids pol^'theism, and requires supreme loyalty to 
Jehovah as the only Living and True God — which is Mono- 
theism. 

second commandment. 

26. How does the Second Com,m,andm,ent differ from the 
first? 

The first commandment respects the Object of worship, the 
second', the Manner of worship. The first forbids the worship 
of any false god, the second, the worship of the True God in a 
false manner. 

27. ^Vhat is the gist of the Second Commandment f 

It is a prohibition of idolatry and all superstition, and 
requires that God shall be worshipped as a Spiritual Being, 



THE MORAL LAW. 207 

spiritually, according to the manner He Himself prescribes 
(Deut. iv. 2, 15, 16 ; xii. 32 ; John iv. 19-24). 

THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

28. What is the purport of the Third Commandment f 

It is a prohibition of Profanity in all its varied forms — espe- 
cially vulgar swearing — a vice which is so common and corrupt- 
ing — and the holding in contempt or making light of sacred 
things ; and it enjoins and requires Reverence for the Most 
High, that the Name of the Majesty of Heaven shall be 
held inviolable. 

FOURTH commandment. 

29. What is the aim, of the Fourth Commandment'^ 

As the first commandment has sx3eciul reference to the Object 
of worship, the second to the Manner of worship, the third to 
the Disposition of Soul and Temper of Mind from which Ac- 
ceptable worship flows, so the purpose of the Fourth Command- 
ment is to prescribe and fix the Time — the regular stated time 
— when Divine worship shall be publicly engaged in. 

30. In what respects is this com,m,andment distinguished from 
the others in the Decalogue f 

In three particulars : (1) it is expressed both positively and 
negatively ; (2) its careful observance is enjoined upon various 
persons in authority, as parents, masters, heads of families, and 
magistrates ; (3) it is not, like the others, moral — founded in 
the nature of things — but positive^ owing its existence and 
authority to the Will and Wisdom of the Supreme Lawgiver 
alone. 

31. What is the nature of the Sabbath Institution f 

It is a joj^ous and holy festival, the proper celebration of 
which involves surcease, as far as possible, from all secular 
pursuits, and total abstinence from worldly amusements, and 
such an employment of the day in holy and beneficent activi- 
ties as will render it a type of the " Rest that remaineth for 
the people of God." It is a festival w^hose proper observance 
is attended with glory to God and the greatest possible benefit 
to man ; while, on the other hand, its perversion, abuse, or 



208 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

profanation is most prejudicial morally and spiritually to the 
sabbath-brealver, and is not infrequently attended with the 
most signal displays of the Divine displeasure. 

32. What is the true test of proper Sabbath activities f 
Their beneficence. "It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath 

day," seeing that " the Sabbath is made for man, and not man 
for the Sabbath," as saith Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Day. 

FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 

33. What is enjoined in the Fifth Commandment ? 

Respect for superiors in age, knowledge, character, and sta- 
tion, in public and in private life, in Church and in state. The 
contrary of all this is, of course, forbidden. 

34. In what respects is the Fifth Commandment peculiar 
among those of the Decalogue 9 

Two : (1) it is expressed only in the positive form ; and (2) it 
is the first, and, indeed, tlie only one of the Ten witli a specific 
promise attached to it (Eph. vi. 2, 3). 

THE SECOND TABLE. 
SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

35. What is the scope of the Sixth Com,mandincnt f 

It requires Respect for Life — human life especially — and for- 
bids murder and assassination in all their varied forms, whether 
directly or indirectly ; physical, moral, and spiritual. 

SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 

36. What is the purport of the Seventh Commandment? 

It has to do with the Relation of the Sexes, and aims at the 
conservation of Purity therein — Purity Personal, Domestic, 
Social. In the individual it requires purity, {a) personal, {b) 
intellectual, (c) moral ; and forbids all unchaste thoughts, 
words, and actions. Personal purity preserved, domestic and 
social purity would, as a matter of course, be the result. 

EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 

37. What is the scope of the Eighth Commandment? 
Relating to the Rights of Property, it enjoins the cultiva- 
tion of the cardinal virtue of Honesty, that is, honorableness. 



THE MORAL LAW. 209 

uprightness, and integrity in all our dealings with our fellows, 
requiring the rendering of a just equivalent for all values re- 
ceived, and forbidding all dishonest, crooked, and questionable 
transactions, which tend to the enriching of ourselves at the 
expense of our neighbors. 

NINTH COMMANDMENT. 

38. What is the scoj^e of the Ninth Comimandment f 

It bears the same relation to Character that the eighth does 
to j)roperty, regarding a Good Name as the most priceless of all 
possessions. It enjoins Truthfulness, that is, honesty, honora- 
bleness, uprightness in speech (oral or written), look and 
gesture, all statements and representations conforming strictly 
to fact or reality ; and prohibits slander, misrepresentation, 
and defamation of every possible character — everything that 
in any way would tend unjustly to injure our own or our 
neighbor's good name. 

TENTH COMMANDMENT. 

39. Against luhat is the Tenth Commandrnent levelled 9 

Differing from all the preceding commandments, which are 
directed primarily against the external act, this last command- 
ment in the Decalogue is levelled at the inordinate affections 
and corrupt desires of the Heart, and aims to prevent the un- 
lawful act by correcting the sinful disposition — to purify the 
stream.s by healing the fountain. 

40. What is the nature of covetousness 9 

It is the sinful desire to possess that which is by the other 
commandments forbidden. It is a Vice — a moral vice which 
infects and pollutes the whole soul — it is subtle, dangerous, 
radical and ruinous — the blood-poison, the pysemia of the 
spiritual life. 

SUMMARY. 

41. How are these Ten Commandments to be regarded 9 

Not as separate and distinct laws, but as so many parts of 
one law. These "Ten Words" are a chain. If one link in a 
chain is broken, the chain itself is broken. Therefore the say- 
ing of the Apostle is true, "Whosoever shall keep the whole 
law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all" (Jas. ii. 10). 

14 



210 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

42. How did our Lord sumnKirize tliese commandments? 

Corresponding with the tables into which the whole law is 
divided, He reduced them to Two (Mark xii. 28-34). 

43. How does the Apostle Paul further condense the law ? 

Into one word— Love, tlie Queen of graces (Cf. Gal. v. 14 ; 
Bom. xiii. 8-10 ; 1 Cor. xiii.). 



THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 

THE THEOCRACY. 

1. What were the peculiar characteristics of the Hebrew 
Commonwealth as moulded by the laws and institutions of 

Moses 9 

The tribal organizations scrupulously preserved their own 
autonomy, and each in its own province, like our several States, 
had a local independence ; while the whole were grouped and 
confederated around the Tabernacle, and after, about its out- 
growth, the Temple, the priestly class combining in itself, as 
in Egypt, both civil and sacerdotal functions. 

2. What was the character of the national govermnent ? 

On its lower and human side the nation approximated to a 
democracy ; on its upper and Divine side, to a monarchy. The 
Hebrew government might, therefore, be called a Theocratic 
Democracy. 

3. What is a Theocracy ? 

It is that form of government in which Jehovah Himself 
is the Supreme Ruler, administering the affairs of the realm 
through men chosen by Himself as His lieutenants or vice- 
gerents, as Moses and Joshua, or as the Judges raised up for 
special emergencies, or as the Kings afterwards, as permanent 
and hereditary officers. 

4. Who first invented the term Theocracy? 

Josephus the Jewish historian, to express what peculiarly 
distinguished the national polity of that people from that of 
any other nation in the history of the world. The Theocracy 
belongs exclusively to the Jewish people. 



THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 211 

5. What was the object of the Theocracy f 

To exhibit on earth a Kingdom of God, a Divine Society, a 
holy nation, a community of saints — a people trained to love 
and practise righteousness ; and so to do this as to render 
manifest to all at once the moral dignity and the high blessed- 
ness attainable by such a community — a community whose 
God is Jehovah. 

6. WJierein lay the distinctive characteristic of the Theocracy f 
In the formal exhibition of God as King, or Supreme Head 

of the Commonwealth, so that all authority and law emanated 
from Him ; Who also charged Himself with the practical re- 
sults of its administration ; rewarding and punishing His sub- 
jects according to their loyalty or disobedience. 

7. What was the natural consequence of this supreme relation 
of Jehovah to the Commonwealth ? 

The abolition of distinction between the civil and the re- 
ligious spheres, and the fusion of the two into one — the merg- 
ing together, as it were, of Church and State. All moral du- 
ties were civil, and all civil moral duties. Patriotism and 
piety were identical. Everything was elevated to the religious 
sphere, and was done with a reference to piety towards God. 
Jehovah was theoretically the religious centre — the Alpha 
and Omega of all. 

8. How did the invisible Jehovah carry on His admiyiistra- 
tion f 

By means of the laws and code of morals contained in the 
Books of INIoses, which constituted at once tlie directory of each 
man's life, and the statute-book of the entire kingdom. These 
were administered by the priesthood and the representatives 
of the people chosen by themselves ; while the priesthood, with 
its prophetic gift of Urim and Thummlm was, in all extraordi- 
nary cases, the medium of communication between the Invisi- 
ble Ruler and His people (Ex. xxviii. 15-30 ; Num. xxvii. 21 ; 
Deut. xxxiii. 8, 9 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 3, 18, 19, and elsewhere to the 
same purpose). 

9. ^]l^at bearing did this theocratic principle have on the 
qucdity of men'' s actions as good or evilf 

It obliterated the distinction which obtains in all ordinary 



212 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

political economies between sin and crime ; for whatever was 
a crime in respect of the community, was also a sin in respect 
to God, the Head of the community — and, indeed, a crime in 
their reckoning, because it was already a sin in His. Tims 
tracing the evil to its source, it was the policy of the Theocracy 
to prevent crime by subduing it. 

10. Whcd was the nature of the treatment to ivhich, in the The- 
ocracy, actions considered as good or bad were subjected 9 

The sj^stem of rewards and punishments was necessarily of a 
temporal nature, in order to immediately and palpably affect 
the interests of the community where the actions visited by 
them were done. The doctrine of a future existence had no 
place in the Mosaic economy, either as a dogma or as a moral 
influence. The sphere of religion was wholly within the sec- 
ular horizon. 

11. Is it not strange that in the Theocracy the issues of eternity 
shoidd be kept in abeyance, while in the new disj^ensation — the 
Christian economy — they are thrust so proininently into the fore- 
ground f 

Yes ; at first sight it seems- strange and unaccountable that 
this should be the case ; but, as might be expected when the 
Divine source of the system is taken into the account, and 
when the formal character and proposed ends of the Theocracy 
are considered, it will be seen that temporal sanctions are the 
only ones that could be brought distinctly into notice, and that 
would meet the exigencies of the case ; and that instead of 
being looked upon as a defect in the Mosaic legislation, its ad- 
ministrative system of rewards and punishments is but an 
additional proof of that Divine wisdom of which it is the 
product. 

12. What are some of the considerations that justify the want 
of a formal reference to the future in the theocratic legislation ? 

The Mosaic legislation was not final, but only provisional 
and temporary. Its institutions were but shadows of the better 
things to come. The temporal and eternal, from the theo- 
cratic point of view, were not so properly distinct and separate 
regions, as the counterparts of each other. Temporal retribu- 
tion and recomi^ense were the mirror of what was to be in the 



THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. 213 

great hereafter. Though not formally taught, the future exist- 
ence was implied or anticipated (Ex. iii. 6, 16 ; Matt. xxii. 29- 
32 ; Ps. xvii. 15 ; xxiii. 6) ; while if the people ordered their 
lives according to the teachings and requirements of the Mosaic 
law, the highest ends would have been attained. 

13. How can the extreme penalties inflicted on idolate7's be 
justified f 

On the ground that Monotheism — the unity of Deity — was 
the basis of the entire polity of the Theocracy ; and hence 
Polytheism, or the introduction of new gods, was alike treason 
to Jehovah and a violation of the laws of the commonwealth, 
and wholly subversive of the object for which it was constituted. 
In short, under the Theocratic regbne, the tolerance of idolatry 
and its accompanying rites would have been as incongruous, as 
it were, in the bosom of a Christian community to allow the 
claims of Mohamet to rank beside those of the Saviour. 

14. Was the theocratic idea realized in Israel f 

No. On the contrary, it may be said to have been a total 
failure. Indeed, it was foreordained so to be. It was not a re- 
markable success even under Moses and Joshua ; while in the 
time of the Judges it met with an almost total collapse. Under 
the reformation wrought by Samuel it was rejuvenated and 
showed some signs of strength ; but, with a growing and un- 
conquerable fondness for idolatry on the part of the people 
which resulted in their ruin, the Theocracy, as a political econ- 
omy, came to an end with the captivity of the two kingdoms, 
Israel and Judah. 

15. Was this failure due to any imperfection in the institu- 
tions of the Theocracy 9 

No; the law was good, perfect; but it was "weak through 
the flesh." Its failure was due to human depravity in general 
and the special perversities of the Jewish people in particular. 
Its failure is the world's shame rather than its condemnation ; 
for the Theocracj^, after all, is the ideal government. 

16. Was the failure of the Theocracy a disappointment to the 
Most High ? 

No ; He knew that it was foredoomed to failure, and so ex- 
pressed Himself through the lips of Moses, before whose pro- 



214 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

phetic vision the entire history of his people was laid open 
(Levit. xxvi. ; Deut. xxvii.-xxx.). It however accomplished 
all He had anticipated for it ; liaving in view, througii its 
failure, to evolve yet a greater good for humanity. The educa- 
tion of the human race is both slow and difficult, and has, 
even under Divine tutelage, to be effected by easy stages. 

17. Did the Theocracy then, after all, accomplish its mission f 
Yes ; it did all its Divine Originator and Head knew that, in 

the circumstances, it could be expected to accomplish. 

18. What 2^ermanent good has survived the ruin of the Theoc- 
racy as a 2^olitical economy ? 

The knowledge of the Being and Character of Jehovah, 
wliich is the foundation of all genuine religion and true moral 
excellence ; the incomparable writings it produced, which, for 
their elevated moral tone and treasures of practical wisdom, 
infinitely surpass those of all other nations of antiquity both in 
their intrinsic value and in their influence for good on the 
character and destinies of the world ; and the pure, and lovely, 
and stirring examples of moral excellence both in the personal 
and family life of the people, such as are nowhere else to be 
found among the nations of antiquity — these arc some of the 
incidental benefits which have survived the wreck of the econ- 
omy which produced them, and on account of which the world 
then, and, indeed, for all time, has become largely its debtor. 

19. Did the Theocracy really die ivith the fall of the nation 
with ivhose history it was identified ? 

No ; nothing that is of God perishes or ultimately fails of its 
destination. Forms change, bodies die ; but the spirit survives 
and assumes new forms and clothes itself with a new body 
suited to the new stages of development on which it enters. 
So with the Theocracy, its spirit and life have survived the 
wreck of the old Jewish polity, and is coming to its ulterior 
development and final issues in the Church of Christ — the 
true Theocracy — the old Theocracy in its new, higher, and per- 
manent form — in which the Divine ideal will be ultimately 
realized, when the kingdoms of the world shall have become 
the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, and the world 
shall end as it began — with another Paradise — a Theocracy 
Restored. 



THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 215 

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. WTiat is the diffei^ence between the Pentateuch and the 
Books composing this second division of the Old Testament ? 

The Pentateuch is only partly historical ; while this second 
division is wholly so. 

2. How many and what are the Historical Books ? 

These are Twelve : Joshua, Judges, and Ruth ; the Three 
Doubles — Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles ; Ezra, Neheniiah, 
and Esther. 

3. What time is covered by the Historical Books ? 

They contain the history of the Hebrew peojDle from, their 
first settlement in Palestine, the Land of Promise, to their re- 
turn thither and settlement therein after the Babylonian Cap- 
tivity — a period of about a millenar\^ — a thousand 3^ears (1042), 
extending from the death of Moses, a.m. 2553 to within about 
400 years of the birth of Christ, a.m. 3595. 

4. Into how many periods may this time be divided f 

Into three main periods : (1) from Moses to the Monarchy, 
the histor,y of which is contained in the three Books, Joshua, 
Judges, and Ruth ; (2) the period of the Monarchy from Saul 
to the Captivity, the history of which is contained in the three 
double Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles ; and (3) the 
period of the Restoration, the history of which is contained 
in the three Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. 

5. Is the history herein given complete f 

No ; it is but a selection from the history of the Church — and 
of the Church only — giving just so much as was sufficient to 
teach us our duty, reveal the character of God, and prepare 
us for the coming of His Son (Deut. xxxii. 8, 9). 

6. To what other peculiarity does this dominant design of the 
Bible give rise ? 

Political events of deep interest are passed over ; the history 
of long reigns is compressed into a few sentences ; national 



216 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

concerns give place to matters of private life, history to biog- 
raphy, a mighty monarch to a poor widow (2 Kings iii. 4). 

7. What, then, is to be said as to the completeness of Scrip- 
ture history f 

For the purposes for which it was designed, the complete- 
ness of Scripture history is both characteristic and instructive. 
It explains at once the Law and the Prophets, the Psalms and 
the Gospel, the Future and the Past. To man, to nations, to 
the Church, every chapter is a lesson ; and the history studied 
in the light of the Law and the Prophets, and applied under 
the guidance of the Gospel, will teach and illustrate, either by 
examples of excellence or by contrasts, both our duty and the 
blessedness of obedience. 

8. Who are the authors of these Historical Books ? 

This question cannot be answered with certainty. Tradition 
assigns authors to each of them, but as the Books themselves 
are anonymous, there is no means of verifying the truth of the 
tradition. Their human authorship is, however, by no means 
necessary to their Divine authority. They are all duly authen- 
ticated as integral parts of the Hebrew Canon. 



JOSHUA. 

1 . Why is this Book called Joshua 9 

Whether it is because Joslma was the author, as some think ; 
or because it is about Joshua as the leader and hero of the 
campaigns it describes, as others suppose, is uncertain. How- 
ever it may be as regards the substance of the history itself, 
it is undoubtedly true that, in the form in which we have it, it 
is the work of a much later hand tlian that of Joshua (Cf. xv. 
63 ; 2 Sam. v. 7-9). The higher critics find in its pages traces 
of the same hand who gave the Pentateuch its final touches ; 
and joining Joshua, on that account, with the Pentateuch, 
they call the whole the Hexateuch. The Book reads like 
Caesar's Commentaries or Grant's Memoirs. 

2. What is the significance of the Word Joshua ? 

Joshua means the salvation of Jehovah and is the same as 
Jesus ; and in his office Joshua is a type of our Lord. Thus 



JOSHUA. 217 

his name, identifying his leadership with God's, was a con- 
stant inspiration, and, as it were, a guarantee of victory. So 
of Jesus our Saviour. 

3. Who was Joshua f 

Moses's successor in the leadership of Israel, Joshua was an 
Ephraimite, born in Egypt, a child of the Bondage, shared in 
the hurried triumphs of the Exodus, was chosen captain at 
Rephidim (Ex. xvii. 9), was with Moses in the Mount (Ex. 
xxiv. 13 ; xxxii. 11, 17), was with Caleb the two of the twelve 
spies who urged the people to go up and possess the land 
(Num. xiv. 6-9), and shortly before Moses's death chosen by 
God Himself to be his successor (Num. xxvii. 15-23), and 
after Moses's death summoned by the command of God to enter 
upon the active duties of his office (Deut. xxxi. 14-23 ; xxxiv. 
9 ; Josh. i. 1). Like Joseph, Joshua lived to be 110 years old 
(xxiv. 29), and, like that last of the Patriarchs, died, mourned 
by his people, leaving a character without blemish. 

4. Hoiu did Joshua compare with Closes f 

Like Moses in zeal for God and love for Israel (xxiii., xxiv.\ 
he had more capacity and sagacity as a captain. Tlie Rod was 
Moses's symbol, and the Spear Joshua's. Joshua was a great 
warrior and an efficient administrator. He was in all respects 
worthy to be the successor of such a one even as Moses. 

5. What was the character of the task with which Joshua was 
intrusted f 

Most delicate and difficult. He was' to lead the people 
through a series of the most brilliant and exciting military 
successes, and then to turn them to the most peaceful pursuits. 
He was to teach them to shed blood pitilesslj^ to harden them 
to such sights as the sacking of towns, and then to enforce 
law^s which in many points were singularly humane. Under 
his guidance the people, like the Romans, were to be taught 
to conquer like savages, and then to rule like philosophic 
statesmen. 

CONTENTS. 

6. How may the Book which records these achievem,ents he 
divided ? 

Into two parts : the Conquest (i.-xii.) and the Division (xiii.- 



218 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

xxiv.). These two grand divisions are susceptible of distinct 
subdivision, the first involving the entrance into Canaan (i-v.) 
and the second, tlie settlement and establishment of religion 
among the people (xxiii., xxiv), and the deatii and burial of 
Joshua (xxiv. 29-33), which concludes this Book, as that of 
Moses does the Pentateuch. 

7. What is the title of the Hebrew people to the Land of 
Canaan f 

It was given to them in fee simple by the sole proprietor of 
the soil, Jehovah Himself, in accordance with His promise 
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. xii. 1-5 ; xvii. 1-8 ; xxvi. 
3 ; XXXV. 9-12), as a possession for ever, on the one condition 
of loyalty and obedience (i. 1-4; xxiii. 11-16). 

8. How did the Land of Promisecom pare with the Land of 
Possession 'f 

The former was larger than the latter, because God gave 
more than faith appropriated (xiii. 1). Only in the days of 
David and Solomon was the one co-extensive with the other 
(Gen. XV. 1-8 ; Num. xxxiv. 1-12). 

9. What official relation did Joshua sustain to Jehovah, the 
Most High God ? 

Jehovah was Sovereign and Commander-in-Chief, and 
Joshua, like Moses, His lieutenant. The government was a 
Theocracy, God Himself being the Invisible King. 

10. What attributes of Jehovah find the most striking illus- 
tration in this history ? 

His Omnipotence (iii. 6, 10) ; His Justice, as seen in the ex- 
termination of the Canaanites, and in the punishment of the 
sins of His own people (vii.) ; His Faithfulness (xi. 43-45 ; xxiii. 
14 ; Ps. cv. 42-45). 

11. To what did the Lord give special prominence in con- 
nection with the taking possession of the Land of Promise ? 

The high estimate He puts upon, and the importance He 
attaches to, the faithful observance of religious institutions 
(iii., v.). 



JOSHUA. 219 

12. What importance is attached to the Passover in the history 
of Israel f 

It was observed by them for the first time on the eve of their 
departure from Egypt (Ex. xii. 13) ; it was again celebrated 
wlien tliey were about to start from Sinai on tlieir marcli to 
Canaan (Num. ix. 1-9) ; and it was now celebrated by the peo- 
ple once again, immediately on their entrance into the Land 
of Promise (v. 10). The Passover was the Lord's Su^^per of the 
Old Testament Church. 

13. What striking illustration of the poiver and rewards of 
Faith does this book afford us f 

The case of Rahab, the hospitable harlot, of Jericho, who 
was herself saved with her house, and who, though a Canaan- 
ite, became an ancestor of David and of Christ (ii. ; vi. 21- 
25 ; Matt. i. 5 ; Heb. xi. 31). 

14. What lessons does the taking of Jericho teach ? 

(1) That our victories are of God ; (2) that we should im- 
plicitly obey God's commands ; (3) that God can accomplish 
the greatest ends with the most unlikely instrumentalities (vi. 
7 ; 1 Cor. i. 27-29) ; (4) that detection and punishment follow sin. 

15. Wliat special evidences of their loyalty to Jehovah is 
credited to the people in this history ? 

Their public and formal renewals of their covenant with the 
Most High (Cf. v. ; xxiii., xxiv. ; Gen. xvii. 9-27). 

16. What was accomjMshed by the entrance into, and the con- 
quest of, the land of Canaan by the Israelites under Joshua, f 

The promise of God to the Patriarchs was in part, at least, 
fulfilled. We say in part, for the original promise of a blessing 
to all nations was too comprehensive to end with the mere 
possession of the land. The promise in its widest scope is still 
being fulfilled to this day, and will not be fully accomplished 
until the kingdoms of the world become the Kingdom of our 
Lord and of His Christ (1 Cor. xv. 24 ; Rev. xi. 15). 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

17. Of what is the conquest of Canaan a type ? 

The conquest of Canaan by the Sword is a type of the con- 



220 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

quest of the world by the Word. The victories of Joshua are 
typical of the triumphs of the Cliurch in its missionary opera- 
-tions. As the liistory of the Conquest of Canaan follows Moses 
and the Law, so the history of the Spiritual Conquest of the 
world follows Christ and the Gospels in the Acts. 

18 . What are the general features of the colonization of Canaan 
under Joshua ? 

Divinely directed as well as Divinel}^ appointed, it was con- 
ducted in an orderlj^ manner, on a large scale, and in away 
eminently favorable to the hai^piness of the emigrants and the 
interests of religion and virtue. Josliua was the model colo- 
nist, whose example is worthj^of all admiration and imitation. 

19. Was Joshua responsible for the indiscrhninate slaughtery 
the war of extermination, ivhich characterized his camx)aigns ? 

No ; in his bloodiest work Joshua, like Moses, was acting 
under commission. His orders were clear, however terrible 
they read (Deut. vii. 1-4 ; xx. 16). God Himself undertakes 
the whole responsibility. Moreover the children of Israel were 
blamed not because the^^ did, but because they did not, exter- 
minate the Canaanites— slaying them with the sword or driv- 
ing them out of the land— mercy to the Canaanites being 
cruelty to themselves (Num. xxxiii. 55, 56 ; Deut. vii. 4-6). 

20. Hoio can the expulsion and bloody extermination of the 
Canaanites from the land by the authority of God be reconciled 
with the Divine benevolence f 

(1.) The absolute rectitude of Jehovah is a guarantee that, 
cruel as it seems, the summary extermination of these heathen 
is without wantonness and injustice (Gen. xviii. 25). 

(2.) This transference of territory and the manner of it, was 
from the first treated as essentially a judicial transaction 
(Gen. XV. 16). As the Sovereign Proprietor of all the earth, 
Jehovah reserves to Himself the right which all sovereigns 
must and do reserve — the right of removing offenders from the 
earth and confiscating their goods. 

(3.) Not only was this extermination a judicial infliction, but 
it was also manifestly a just one. The inhabitants of Canaan 
were not only, so to speak, " tenants at will," but tenants of 
the worst description. Their iniquity was now such that even 



JOSHUA. 221 

the surrounding heathen complained of them. They were as 
well known for the most abominable idolatries, and the coarsest 
and cruellest practices. Worldly, sensual, devilish. Sodom- 
like, their sin was " very grievous" beyond that of other men ; 
a curse to the world they corrupted with their vices, and bur- 
dened with a load of guilt (Levit. xviii. ; Deut. ix. 4 ; xviii. 
10-14). 

(4.) The cruelties here practised were common to the age, 
and that in exterminating a very guilty people, God did not 
direct milder usages than those which generally prevailed. 

(5.) Had they not been destroyed, Israel could not have 
been saved from universal idolatry. Their salvation would 
have been the world's destruction (Deut. vii. 4-7). In the de- 
struction of the Canaanites, therefore, God has written in legi- 
ble characters this truth, that it Is "better the wicked be de- 
stroyed a hundred times over, than that they should tempt 
those yet innocent to join their company." 

(6.) The Canaanites had the alternative of flight. They 
knew from what had happened to their neighbors what they 
miglit expect. They refused to go. Thej'', therefore, not only 
deserved, but chose their fate. 

(7.) No plan could have made clearer or more impressive the 
power and righteousness of God, His infinite superiority to 
the idols of those nations, and His righteous hatred of the 
crimes into which they had fallen. 

(8.) Civilization is everywhere and always spread by con- 
quest — the sweeping away by the stronger and purer races of 
those nations whose iniquities are full — that is to say, wliieh 
have fallen too low for national redem.ption. There is, how- 
ever, between such conquests, made too often for gain or glory, 
and the Jewish occupancy of Canaan, the same difference that 
there is between a righteous execution which rejoices the 
hearts of all good men, and a murder which makes us ashamed 
of our nature. 

21. Hoiv can the slaughter of the children, the unoffending 
infants, he justified f 

The Giver of our life has the inalienable right to take it wlien 
and how He sees fit. Besides, just as every cub becomes a lion, 
every infant of such parentage, growing to maturity, would 
become a Canaanite. The iniquities of the fathers are thus 
by natural law visited upon the children of those who hate 



222 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

God. But all children dying in infancy are saved — go to 
Heaven. The sword of the Hebrew therefore opened to the 
babes of Canaan a happy escape from misery and sin — a sharp 
but short passage to a better and purer world. 

22. ^V7lat is the answer to the objection that the Canaanites 
had no chance, had no missionaries, and did not know any 
better ? 

Being the descendants of Noah through Ham, they had 
once known, and for centuries the light of an early religion 
lingered among them. They had precisely the same light and 
opportunities of other peoples, who, nevertheless, did not de- 
scend to their abominable idolatries. 

23. What are some of the lessons that the conquest of Canaan 
by Joshua teaches us respecting our own Salvation ? 

(1.) That in it there is a somewhat perplexing mixing of 
miracle and hard fighting. Miracle on the side of Israel there 
certainly was, yet this rule was distinctly laid down as the 
rule by which the territory was allotted to the tribes, — that 
each was to have what each could take, and hold against the 
enemy (xiv. 6-14). But this is the law of our acquisitions 
also. That only is ours that we fight for and win. Our own 
conquest must ever supplement Gou's grant. 

(2.) That as the aboriginal inhabitants whom the Israelites 
were too careless or too cowardly to subdue became their 
scourges, and as thorns in their side, so unconquered sins be- 
come our tormentors — thorns in our sides and pricks in our 
eyes. 

(3.) That when conquest of present sins is promised, we are 
not to expect immediate victor}'. We must still fight, if we 
would reign. The conflict will continue through life ; and they 
only that "endure to the end shall be saved." We should go 
about the destruction of our sins, therefore, as Israel went to 
the slaughter of the Canaanites — their eye did not pity and 
their hand did not spare. 

24. In what ivords in this history may the Church of Christ 
find a motto and a stimulus for its missionary work ? 

In the words of the Lord to Joshua (xiii. 1), "There re- 
maineth yet very much land to be possessed !" In fact, so 



JOSHUA. 223 

gigantic is the missionary work which, after eighteen hundred 
years of effort, hes before the church, that the old words are 
still aj)propriate to the situation, " The Field is the World !" 

25. WTiat lesson might the Church learn as to the best method 
of the Evangelization of the world from the m^anner in which 
the twelve tribes took possession of the land of Canaan ? 

God divided it for them into twelve different sections, giving 
to each tribe a part ; so that while each helped the other, each 
tribe had its own special sphere for its work and warfare. And 
so the Church might apportion out the heathen world as well 
as to similarly divide the waste field at home. The immense 
gain to the cause from such a course must be evident to every 
reflecting mind. 

26. How long did Joshua'' s administration la^t f 

Some twenty-five or thirty years. He was about eighty 
years old when he took command of Israel, the same age of 
Moses when he went to Egypt to deliver Israel. He was yet 
a young man during the year of the encampment at Sinai 
(Ex. xxxiii. 11), and he was one hundred and ten years old 
when he died — his life being but ten years shorter than that 
of Moses. 

27. What w^iracles or supernatural interpositions are recorded 
in this Book f 

Five : the parting the Jordan (iii. 9-17) ; the cessation of 
the manna (v. 12) ; the Theophany of v. 13-15 ; the taking of 
Jericho (vi. 1-20) ; the causing of the Sun and Moon to stand 
still (x. 12-14). 

28. IIoiv may the campaigns of the Conquest of Canaan be 
divided f 

Under two heads: (1) The campaigns on the east side of 
Jordan. These were during the lifetime of Moses, and gained 
for Israel all the territory between the brook Arnon and Mount 
Hermon. (2) The campaigns west of the Jordan, the first of 
which was directed against Central Palestine, the second 
against Southern Palestine, and the third and last against 
Northern Palestine. 



224 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

29. What ate the more important of Joshua'' s victories f 

In the first campaign the taking of Jericho (vi.), of Ai (viii.), 
and of Sliecheni (viii. 30-33) ; in the second campaign, the 
battle of Bethoron (x. 10-13), the taking of Hebron and Debir 
(x. 29-39) ; in the third campaign in the North the decisive 
battle was near Lake Merom, which was followed by the cap- 
ture of many cities in that latitude. 

30. At the close of the conquest by Joshua, what part of Pales- 
tine did Israel possess ? 

Most of the mountain region had come into their possession, 
but none of the sea-coast plain or the Jordan valley. They 
were, Swiss-like, a mountaineer-peoi^le. Even in the New 
Testament period the lowlands were occupied mainly by Gen- 
tiles. 

31. ITow may this Book be best described f 

As the Conquest of Palestine by Joshua, the main features 
of the history being (1) that of the Conquest, and (2) that of 
the Division of the land. 



JUDGES. 

1. Hoiv did the death of Joshua leave Israel? 

Without any visible national head, no successor having been 
appointed to Joshua, as he had been Divinely appointed to 
succeed Moses. There was, therefore, no central government, 
each of the twelve tribes preserving its own independence and 
autonomy. The condition of Israel at this time was like that 
of the United States at the close of the Revolution (1783-89) 
—a loose confederation with no central authority. 

2. What was the character of the government of this period f 

On its upper or Divine side a pure Theocracy ; on its lower 
or manward side a pure Democracy, or better, perhaps, a sort 
of patriarchal Republic. 

3. What effect had this lack of central authority on the char- 
acter of the peo2:>le f 

Both good and bad— mostly bad. 



JUDGES. 225 

4. How did the evil effects show themselves ? 

In two ways : (1) Tribal Jealousy — there being a constant 
struggle for the leadership between the two great tribes of 
Judah and Ephraim (viii. 1-3 ; xii. 1-6), which continued all 
through the reign of David, and at length led to the division 
of the kingdom under Rehoboam ; in (2) the Neglect of the 
Law of Moses, which is but once referred to in this Book (iii. 
4). Its regulations, if not deliberately disobeyed, were at least 
ignorantly neglected. Even good men, as Gideon and Samuel, 
built altars and oifered sacrifices (vi. 24 ; 1 Sam. vii. 9) contrary 
to the letter of the law of Moses, but obeying it in its spirit. 

5. What was the good effect of the Democracy ? 

It developed character, individuality, as free institutions 
always do. It is in this light we are to understand those pas- 
sages where it is said, " Every man did that which was right 
in his own eyes" (xvii. 6 ; xviii. 1 ; xix. 1), and not, as is com- 
monly supposed, as being indicative of Anarchy ; for anarchy 
is confusion, and during most of the period of the Judges there 
were peace and order in Israel. It was rather an age of He- 
roes, for its rulers were neither hereditary nor elective, but 
emergency men — men called forth by the needs of the hour 
and their own qualities of leadership. 

6. Whe7^ein did the real strength of Israel lie f 

In its Religious Institutions. Unlike the heathen nations, 
where every town had its own god and peculiar religious rites, 
in Israel there was, at least in theory, but one God, Jehovah, 
one altar, one Tabernacle or tent of meeting with God, and one 
system of worship, with its annual pilgrimage to the religious 
capital (1 Sam. i. 3). And just in the measure these institu- 
tions were observed, Israel was strong against all foes, and as 
they were neglected the land became the prey of oppressors 
(ii. 7-14 ; 1 Sam. vii. 3). 

7. What was the character of the period of the Judges or the 
Jevnsh Democracy^ religiously considered f 

It was a period of national apostasy and moral degeneracy. 
Idolatry and Conformity to the age wrought ruin. Faith and 
faithfulness gave way to unbelief and fickleness. The Taber- 

15 



226 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

nacle was hidden in darkness, and there is but one mention of 
the High-Priest (ii. 1-13 ; xx. 28). It was tlie Darlv Ages of 
Hebrew history. 

8. What was the consequence of this national apostasy f 

The people liaviug abandoned God, He forsook them, and 
they became a prey to their enemies round about, those becom- 
ing their tormentors to whom they yielded as tempters, and 
they were greatly distressed (ii. 14, 15 ; iii. 8 ; iv. 2 ; Of. Levit. 
XX vi. with Deut. xxviii). 

9. Did God leave His 2^<^ople to be a continued prey to their 
oppressors 9 

No ; they " cried unto Him in their trouble and He delivered 
them out of their distresses," from time to time raising up for 
them deliverers called Judges, the history of whose achieve- 
ments is recorded in this Book, called by that name (ii. 16-18 ; 
Deut. xxxii. 3G ; Ps. cvi. 34-48). 

10. What were tlie Judges of Israel 9 

They were the heroes of that Iron Age, who, in the dark 
hours of their country's history, came to the front, and, lead- 
ing \he people to victory, delivered them from their enemies 
and restored them to the service of Jehovah. The Judge was, 
therefore, a union of the warrior and the religious reformer, 
whom the people recognized, from his personal qualifications, 
as being called of God to his office (ii. 16 ; iii. 9 ; vi. 11-13). 

11. What relation did the Judges sustain to Jehovah and, 
the state rcspectivebj f 

They were, like Joshua, the lieutenants of the Most High ; 
while, as regards the people, they were, for the time being, 
military Dictators— absolute Monarchs, uncrowned Kings, the 
whole executive power of the state being concentrated in their 
persons. 

12. Was the office of Judge permanent or occasional? 

Occasional only, the particular Judge, like Cincinnatus or 
AVashington, resigning his commission when the work for 
which he received it was accomplished. Some of them, how- 
ever, as Samson, died in office. 



JUDGES. 227 

13. What was the extent of the Judges' rule f 

Generally local, over a few tribes in one section. Deborah 
ruled in the north (v. 14-18) ; while Jephtha governed the 
northern part of the east side of the Jordan only (xi. 29 . Often 
the northern tribes were in peril, but we never read of Judah 
going to their assistance ; and in Judah's wars with the Philis- 
tines the northeastern tribes stood aloof. Moreover, it would 
seem that more than one judge was ruling at the same time ; 
Samson and Eli being, in all probabilit\', contemporaneous. 
Gideon and Samuel alone ruled over the wliole twelve tribes. 

14. What tvas the character of these Judges f 

Quite peculiar. Their strength was, as a rule, rather physi- 
cal than moral. They rather defended God's cause by their 
prowess than adorned it bj" their piety (iii. 12-31 ; xiii.-xvi.). 

15. What were some of the peculiar weapons of these Judges f 

The dagger of Ehud, the ox-goad of Shamgar, the lamps, 
pitchers, and trumpets of Gideon, and the jaw-bone of the ass 
of Samson, are among the most peculiar mentioned in the 
record. 

16. How many Judges were there in Israel 9 

Thirteen in this Book and two in First Samuel : Othniel, 
Eliud, and Shamgar ; Deborah and Barak ; Abimelech, Gid- 
eon, Tola, Jair, and Jephtha ; Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Sam- 
son ; Eli, Samuel : the last, a prophet-judge, links the Judges 
and the Kings, as Deborah, a woman, is the prophet-judge 
linking Moses and Samuel. 

17. How many oppressions are mentioned in Judges f 

Seven are specially mentioned : the Mesopotamian (iii. 7- 
11) ; the Moabite (iii. 12-20) ; the Canaanite (iv.) ; the Midian- 
ite (xvi. 1-6) ; the Ammonite (x. 7-9) ; the Philistine — earlier 
and later (iii. 31 ; xiii.) ; and the corresponding deliverances 
under Othniel, Shamgar, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephtha, 
Samson, and Samuel. 

18. In luhat respects did Eli and Samuel differ from the other 
Judges ? 

Eli was High -Priest as well as judge, and Samuel was 
prophet as well as judge, if not also a priest. Theirs, too, was 



228 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

a life office, and their administrations were ratlier civil than 
military, the only military achievement of Samuel being tlie 
battle of Ebenezer (1 Sam. vii. 7-14), and that under Eli's ad- 
ministration the unfortunate affair at Ebenezer also (1 Sam. iv.). 

19. W^Kit ivas the moral condition of Israel as described in 
this Book f 

It had undergone a very sad change from that which existed 
in the days of Joshua. The Book, as a whole, is one of the 
dark chapters in the history of the Hebrew people ; while the 
disgraceful incidents of xviii. and xix. with the sequel in xx., 
xxi. give us a glimpse into tlie deep depravity and savage cus- 
toms which obtained in tliat turbulent age. As an offset to 
these sad scenes, however, there is the exquisite picture of 
lovely home-life and moral purity preserved for us in the pages 
of the Book of Ruth, which belongs also to tlie period of the 
Judges (Ruth i. 1). 

20. What was the besetting sin of Israel ? 

Its tendency to idolatry. This was true of that people for 
a thousand years from this time. Idolatry was the crying sin 
of Israel down to the Captivity in Babylon, when they were 
thoroughly cured of it. 

21. What were the causes ivhieh operated to- promote this ten- 
dency to the ivorshipt of idols ? 

Three : (1) The natural craving for a visible object of worship, 
not altogether eradicated from the Christian heart ; (2) the 
association of Israel with the idolatrous Canaanites whom they 
had failed to exterminate or drive out, and their intermarriage 
with them ; and (8) the opportunity which idol worship gives 
to gratify lust under the guise of religion. 

22. To whom, were the victories over the oppressor recorded in 
this Book due ? 

To Jehovah Himself. Israel was saved in such a way that 
the glory of their deliverance belonged only to God (vii. 2), 
there being a manifest disproportion between the means used 
and the effect produced (Heb. xi. 32-34). 



JUDGES. 229 

23. Comparing the Book of Joshua with Judges^ what tribute 
is paid to the value of civil government ^ 

Joshua shows us the blessin:^s which attend union founded 
on rehgious principles— loyalty to Jehovah ; — Judges shows 
the reverse of this. 

24. What does Judges teach respecting the issue of worldly 
friendship>s and unholy alliances f 

That they lead to serious complications and grievous troubles, 
the case of Samson and Delilah (xvi.) being a striking illus- 
tration of the fact that the friendships which are begun in 
wickedness cannot stand (2 Cor. vi. 14-18). 

25. What sj^ecial instances of righteous retribution are found 
in this Book f 

The case of Adoni-bezek the tyrant (i. 4-7) ; that of Abime- 
lech the fratricide (ix. 24, 53, 54) ; that of Micah who was 
robbed of his gods (xviii. 18-25) ; and that of the Benjamites 
who protected their lustful brethren (xx.-xxi.). 

26. What special instance is hei'ein recorded to show the utter 
vanity of idols ? 

The throwing down by Gideon of the altar of Baal, and the 
clever defence thereof by Gideon's father (vi. 28-32) ; as much 
as to say that the gods should avenge their own indignities. 

27. What miracles are recorded in this Book f 

Five : (1) The angel rebuking the people at Bochim (ii. 1-5) ; 
the two in which the Angel of the Lord "did wondrously" 
in converting a meal into a sacrifice, the one as (2) a sign to 
Gideon (vi. 19-23), and the other (3) for Manoah and his wife 
upon the occasion of the annunciation of the birth of Samson 
(xiii. 2-23) ; (4) the additional sign to Gideon in the matter 
of the fleece and the dew (vi. 36-40) ; and (5) the manner in 
which water was supplied for the quenching of Samson's 
thirst (xv. 18, 19). 

28. Js there any poetry in this Book? 

Yes ; there is Deborah's triumphal ode (v.) ; Jotham's fable 
about the trees seeking a King (ix. 8-15) ; and Samson's riddle 
(xiv. 14). 



230 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

29. Who are the famous women of Judges ? 

Deborah, the prophet-judge (iv, 4) ; Jael, the wife of Heber 
the Kenite, the slayer of Sisera (iv. 17-22 ; v. 24-27) ; the 
naroeless slayer of Abiinelech the fratricide (xi. 34-40) ; besides, 
the treacherous wife of Samson (xiv. 15-18), and his perfidious 
mistress Delilah, the Philistine courtesan (xvi. 4-20). 

30. What period is covered by the Judges 'I 

The time commonly assigned is 300 years, while the dates in 
the Book itself when reckoned consecutively amount to 410 
years. In Acts xiii. 20 the period is given as 450 years ; while 
xi. 26 and 1 Kings vi. 1 give data which do not harmonize with 
either of these periods. There is a chronological difficulty 
here which cannot at present be certainly and exactly solved. 

31. Of what special value is the Book of Judges f 

It is of the utmost value as showing us the state of morals 
and manners in that far-off time, and letting us see with what 
crude material the great ideas committed to Israel — the Unity 
and Spirituality and Righteousness of Jehovah — were com- 
pelled to work themselves out. It is the most miscellaneous 
history in the whole Bible, and marks the corruption that so 
early crept into the ancient Church. 

32. What is the nature of the contents of Judges f 

It is largely a recital of the various wars of deliverance and 
defence waged by the Hebrews of Northern Palestine against 
the surrounding peoples, under those leaders whom God raised 
up to take command of them. 

33. What are some rennarkably large families among the 
Judges ? 

That of Jair the Gileadite who had thirty sons (x. 4) ; that 
of Ibzan of Bethlehem who had thirty sons and thirty daugh- 
ters ; and that of Abdon the Pirathonite who had forty sons 
and thirty nephews (xii. 8, 9, 13, 14). 

34. By whom and ivhen was the Judges written ? 

Tradition ascribes it to Samuel, but of the correctness of this 
there is no certainty, and some think it rests on no adequate 
foundation. From the Book itself it would seem to be com- 



RUTH. 231 

piled by some later writer, from various written documents, 
as the Pentateuch is alleged to be. Its date is m.ost probably 
during the reign of David. 

35. What are the divisions of the Judges f 

These are three : (1) Introduction to the main history (i.-iii. 
6) ; (2) the main history (iii. 7-xvi.) ; (3) an Appendix made 
up of fragmentary narratives without chronological order 
(xvii.-xxi.). These are about Micah and his gods, the Danite 
migration, aud the shameful story of the abuse of the Levite's 
concubine. 

36. What is the grand moral lesson of Judges ? 
Sin ever brings its own punishment (ii. 14-23). 

37. How is the period covered by Joshua and Judges charac- 
terized ? 

As the Iron Age of Israel ; even as that of David and Solo- 
mon is called its Golden Age. 



RUTH. 

1. What is the nature of this Book f 

It is a beautiful pastoral Idyl — a Sacred Love Story — the 
heroine in which is Ruth the Moabitess, after whom the piece 
is named. The storj'^ in the Jewish collections originally formed 
a part of the Book of Judges, and very properly, as the inci- 
dent occurred ** in the daj^s when the Judges ruled" (i. 1). It 
was, however, for liturgical reasons removed from the Earlier 
and placed among the Later Prophets in the third group of 
sacred writings called the Ketubim. 

2. Where is the scene of this story laid f 

In Bethlehem of Judea — a humble hamlet, famous, never- 
theless, in the annals of time, and in the everlasting memories 
of eternity. It was here that David, the most illustrious of all 
the Hebrew bards and monarchs, Ruth's great-grandson, tended 
his father's sheep ; and it was in the "city" where Ruth and 
Boaz were married that the greater than David, the Saviour 
of the World, was born ! 



232 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

3. What in brief is the story of Buth f 

Famine in Bethlehem drives EUmelech with his wife Naomi 
and two sons, Mahloii and Chihon, to Moab, where, in course 
of time, tlie sons marry two of the daughters of that strange 
hind— Orpah and Kuth. By and by the father and sons all 
die, leaving behind them the three widowed women. Ten 
years later, having heard that " the Lord had visited her own 
people in giving them bread," Naomi resolves to return to her 
native land and early home. Orpah leaves her, but Ruth 
cleaves to her and returns with her to Bethlehem, where 
she becomes the wife of Boaz, her dead husband's nearest kins- 
man, and through him the founders of the royal house of 
Israel — the ancestress of David and of his greater son Jesus 
the Christ (iv. 18-22 ; JNIatt. i. 5, 6, IG). 

4. What were the coiiditlons I'cquisite to constitute Boaz the 
Bcdecmer of Buth and her forfeited estate? 

These were two : he must be kinsman to have the Right ; 
and of a higher Branch of the family, not involved in the dis- 
aster, to have the Power to redeem. Both these conditions 
united in Boaz. 

5. How does Boaz thus become a type o/ Christ? 

The race is in ruin. Man is next of kin, but cannot redeem 
his fellow-man, for he is himself ruined. Jesus, our Boaz, our 
near kinsman, yet of a higher family, the God-man, becomes 
both Redeemer and Bridegroom of the Church. 

6. In what res2:>eets is this story of Buth especially valuable f 

(1) Archjeologically— as a romantic story of ancient Oriental 
domestic life it is deeply interesting, serving to show that in 
the midst of all those turbulent times there were quiet homes 
and gentle lives ; (2) Historically— it unfolds the providential 
events by whicli a :Moabitess, shut out by the Law (Deut. 
xxiii. 3, 6), became incorporated with the kingdom of Israel 
and an ancestress of our Lord ; (3) Genealogically— it gives us 
details of the pedigree of David nowhere else related ; (4) The- 
ologically—it is a striking illustration of the providence of God, 
showing that it extends to individuals, that it overrules calam- 
ities, rewards filial piety, and that Jehovah, our God, is no 
respecter of persons, and that even before Cornelius (Acts x. 



RUTH. 233 

35, 36), Ruth was the forerunner of the Gentiles incorporated 
into the Church (Eph. ii. 11-13 ; iii. 6-9). 

7. What illustration does this story furnish of God's pity and 
peculiar care for the poor ? 

The right guaranteed to Ruth and others by the statutes of 
Israel to enter the field or vineyard (ii.) and eat their fill — to 
gather the crop that grew in the corners of the corn-fields — to 
claim the whole produce of the field in every seventh year of 
rest (Levit. xix. 9, 10 ; xxv. 4-7 ; Deut. xxiv. 19-22). 

8. What lesson does the kind familiarity in the hearing of 
Boaz toward his servants, as well as toward Huth, teach us ? 

That the claims of a common brotherhood, overlying all 
conventional distinctions, were acknowledged Then as the3' are 
not Now. Here was genuine Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. 

9. How can Naomi's counsel to Muth and the consequent mid- 
night scene in the threshing-fioor (ii.) he justified f 

On the ground that the customs of the country and the state 
of matters and of manners Avere very different from our own, 
and that according to the uNIosaic law (Deut. xxv. 5-10) Ruth 
was entitled, if not required, to claim marriage (ii. 9j at the 
hand of her dead husband's nearest kinsman, as, ignorant that 
another was nearer, she believed Boaz to be. No ''virtuous 
woman," however, as Ruth undoubtedly was (ii. 11), would, in 
our day and country, think of following her example ; our rule 
of life being the plain words of God such as are found in Matt. 
vi. 13 ; 1 Cor. x. 12 ; 1 Thes. v. 22). 

10. How does Ruth's history compare with that of Esther ? 

Though less sensational and fascinating to the mere lovers 
of romance, Ruth's history is more instructive and useful in 
this, that, playing her part on the common stage of life, her 
virtues, and not her beauty, formed the foundations of her 
fortune. 

11. What important jDractical lessons are taught us hy the 
treatment of their mother-in-law, Naomi, hy Orpah and Ruth 
respectively f 

In the case of Orpah (i. 14) we see the worthlessness of mere 



234 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

emotionalism in religion ; while in the ease of Ruth (i. 16, 17) 
we witness the results of a thorough religious conviction. 

12. What traits in the character ofJBoaz are worthy the imita- 
tion of all rich men and employers of laborers f 

His diligence in business, his courteousness, his piety, and 
his care for the moral and religious interests of his serv^ants 
(ii. 4). Boaz was a Model Gentleman, a Model Farmer, and a 
Model Employer. 

13. What virtues shone m,ost conspicuously in Ruth's character f 

Her industry, purity, humility, faith, and her affection for 
Naomi (Prov. xxxi. 29). As Boaz was a model Farmer, so 
Naomi is a model mother-in-law, and Ruth a model daughter- 
in-law. In this story maternal tenderness, filial affection, and 
genuine chivalry find their typical representatives. 

14. For whom has this Book of Ruth an especial interest f 

The rural population ; the whole story being made up of 
the most careful details of country life, country customs, and 
country folk ; teaching that not only on the city and the 
palace, on the cathedral and the college, on the assemblies of 
statesmen and on the studies of scholars, but upon the meadow 
and the corn-field, the farm-liousc and the cottage, is written 
by the everlasting finger of God— Holiness unto the Lord — 
that the simple dwellers in villages, the simple tillers of the 
ground can be as godly and as pious, as virtuous, and as high- 
minded as those who have naught to do but serve God in the 
offices of religion. 

15. How is the Book of Ruth regarded as a literary composi- 
tion f 

The story of Ruth, drawn with great simplicity and skill, 
possesses an indescribable natural charm, and has been attrac- 
tive through many generations and in many lands. It is a 
sacred classic — a literary gem. There is no sweeter story in any 
literature. 

16. Was Elimelech justified in leaving Judah and going to 
Moab f 

No ; lack of bread does not warrant departure from God and 
identification with the forbidden land of Aliens. Calamity 



RUTH. 235 

follows disobedience ; the backslider must return froin aliena- 
tion and separation, and be reunited to the Lord and His 
people before Prosperity returns. 

17. What inference do the higher critics draw from the mar- 
riage of Boaz and Ruth ? 

That the law forbidding such an alliance (Deut. xxiii. 3, 6) 
was not then in existence ; otherwise the Bethlehemites, who 
were a God-fearing and a law-abiding people, instead of ap- 
plauding its violation, as this story implies they did, they 
would have observed it. They hence argue that the Deuter- 
onomic law, at least in the form in which we now have it, was 
the product of an age long subsequent to the time of Moses. 
In this conclusion, however, they overlook the fact that, ac- 
cording to that same law, it was the duty of Boaz to do pre- 
cisely as he did (Deut. xxv. 5-10), and the further fact that by 
her conversion Ruth became also a daughter of Abraham. 

18. What evangelical truths does the conduct of Orpah and 
Ruth respectively represent f 

Orpah represents the sinner rejecting Christ ; while Ruth 
represents the sinner repenting, believing, coming to the Re- 
deemer, poor and friendless, lying at His feet, praying for the 
shelter of His Name, the protection of His love, the parWci- 
pation of His life and bliss, and finding in Him more than 
hope dared anticipate. 

19. How may the contents of this Book be divided? 

Into three parts ; (1) an account of Naomi, from her depart- 
ure with her husband from Canaan into Moab, to her return 
with her daughter-in-law, Ruth ; (2) the introduction to, and 
marriage of, Boaz with Ruth (ii.-iv. 12) ; (3) the birth of Obed, 
and genealogy of David (iv. 13-22). 

20. What is the great lesson of Ruth f 

It shows us how God overrules the mistakes, and even the 
sins, of His own people for His own glory—'* still out of seem- 
ing ill educing good." 



236 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE SAMUELS— KINGS— CHRONICLES. 

THE BOOKS AS SUCH. 

1. Why are these six Books thus linked together ? 

Because they constitute a continuous history, and treat of 
one great period — the Hebrew Monarchy. For convenience, 
these Books may be called the Three Doubles. 

2. Are the titles of these Books ha2)pilu chosen f 

Thej' are not. Instead of being suggestive of the contents 
of the Books, they are confusing, if not misleading. This is 
especially true of the Samuels and the Chronicles. 

3. Did these Books always hear these titles f 

No ; the first two Doubles in the ancient Hebrew, Septua- 
gint, Latin Vulgate, and old English Versions, appear as one 
work in four volumes, called the Four Books of Kings — a title 
much more suggestive and appropriate than those they now 
bear. In the recent Hebrew Bibles, however, they are divided 
as in our Bible, and bear the same names. For the Chronicles, 
see below. 

4. What relation do these three Doubles sustain to the three 
.preceding Books — Joshua, Judges, and Ruth f 

The former are a continuation of the history contained in the 
latter. Taken together tliey give a connected narrative of the 
whole period from the Conquest of Canaan to the Exile — from 
Joshua to Zedekiah. 

5. What is the character of these Books f 

They are evidently a compilation of previously-existing doc- 
uments, put into their present form, not always in the most 
logical and satisfactory way — on the contrary, indeed, often in 
the most confusing and perplexing manner — by an editor or 
editors not earlier than the Exile, about 500 B.C. 

6. Who ivrote these Books f 

This is not known with certainty. The tradition that Sam- 
uel wrote Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and the two Books that bear 
his name, however correct as regards the others, is manifestly 



, THE THREE DOUBLES. 237 

not true as respects at least a part of the latter, since Samuel 
dies in the twenty-fifth chapter of the First Book that bears 
his name. 

7. What is a marked feature of these histories f 

Their religious, theocratic character ; King, Church, and 
State all being represented as under God. The character of 
each king is decided by his fidelity to the religious obligations 
of his office. Of each it is said, "He walked in the ways of 
David his father," and so prospered ; or of "Jeroboam the son 
of Nebat, who made Israel to sin," and so failed. 

8. For what are these three Doubles especially valuable f 

In that they give us the history of God and His Law in the 
Nation, and that nation a Monarchy ; as the Books of Joshua, 
Judges, and Ruth give us the history of God and His Law in 
a Democracy, or patriarchal Republic ; or as the Pentateuchal 
literature gives us the history of God and His law in the 
Family. 

THE MONARCHY. 

9. How long did the Hebrew Monarchy last ? 

From its foundation in Saul to its final overthrow and the 
captivity of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah — about 500 years. 

10. How long were the Twelve Tribes united under one mon- 
arch f 

During the reigns of the first three kings — Saul, David, and 
Solomon — each of whom reigned forty years — 120 years. 

11. WJien and into what was the kingdom, divided? 

At the coronation of Rehoboam, Solomon's son and successor, 
the Ten Tribes revolted, and with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, 
one of Solomon's officers, founded the Kingdom of Israel ; 
while the tribe of Judah alone— the tribe of Levi for political 
purposes not being reckoned among the twelve — adhered to 
Rehoboam and the House of David. Jeroboam first chose 
Shechem, and afterwards Samaria, as the capital of his king- 
dom ; while Jerusalem remained the capital of Judah. By 
reason of their geographical position, Israel is called the north- 
ern, and Judah the southern, kingdom. 



238 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 

12. How long did Israel last f 

It stood a little over two centuries and a half— 254 years, from 
B.C. 975 to B.C. 721, and had nineteen kings. 

13. What was the character of the kingdom of Israel 9 

It was a military monarchy. It was characterized by unrest, 
change, revolution. During its 254 years it had nineteen 
kings, seven different dynasties, four of which ended with the 
conspirators who founded them. 

14. What was the character of the kings of Israel f 

They were all bad. There is a dismal monotony about the 
way in which their reigns are characterized, the invariable 
formula used to delineate their character being : " He did evil 
in the sight of Jehovah;" or, "He walked in the ways of 
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." 

15. What was the extent of the kingdom of Israel ? 

About equal in area to New Hampshire, or Massachusetts 
and Rliode Island together, Israel had more than three times 
the population and territory of Judah. Its territory outranked 
Judah in almost everything. With the exception of Jerusalem 
and Hebron, it had in it all the sites that were dear to the 
Hebrew, the places of memory and tender association. It far 
surpassed the territory of Judah for richness of fertility and 
grandeur of scenery. It had a population of from three to 
four millions. 

16. What was the original sin of the Ten Tribes f 

The adoption of calf-worship— a modified idolatry, half-way 
between the pure religion of Jehovah and the abominations 
of the heathen — as the national religion (1 Kings xii. 25-30). 

17. What were the consequences of this first misstep f 

The ruin of the house of Jeroboam, the final overthrow of 
the kingdom, and the captivity of the people. 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 239 

18. What became of the Ten Tribes 9 

Nobody knows. They are still the lost tribes. The latest 
and the most absurd theory is that the Anglo-Saxon race, the 
inhabitants of Great Britain, are the lost tribes. It is most 
probable that they became absorbed by the heathen whence 
they were carried, or became merged with Judah— the Jews — 
and so passed forever out of sight as a distinct nationality. 

19. What became of the conquered territory of Israel f 

It was peopled by settlers from the region of the Tigris and 
Euphrates, who became known as Samaritans (2 Kings xvii.). 

THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH. 

20. How long did the southern kingdom last ? 

It stood nearly 400 (exactly 388) years, surviving her more 
powerful and prosperous sister on the north nearly a century 
and a half (134 years), from 975 to 587 B.C., and had twenty 
sovereigns, all of whom, unlike those of Israel, being the de- 
scendants of one house, and that the House of David. 

21. How did the Kings of Judah compare in character with 
those of Israel f 

For the most part it was in strong contrast. JFrom first to 
last the Kings of Israel were all bad ; among the whole nine- 
teen there was " not one calling upon the name of Jehovah" 
(Hos. vii. 7). On the other hand, while some of the Kings of 
Judah, as Jehoram, Ahaz, Manasseh, and Amon, were fear- 
fully impious and wicked, six — Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, 
Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah — are mentioned with great 
praise, while others are commended. 

22. How did Judah as a kingdom compare ivith Israel f 

In physical advantages the kingdom of Judah was vastly 
inferior to Israel. It had only a fraction of Israel's population. 
Its territory did not compare with Israel's either in extent, 
fertility, or beauty. The Ten Tribes took the great part of the 
country and the best of it. Only the rocky and hilly country 
— the barren hills of New England, as compared with the 
vast and fertile plains of the West — was left to Judah. Yet 



240 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



God had a future for Judah. The hope of the world was 
bound up with the fate of the Uttle kingdom. Its career as a 
nation was away beyond that of Israel. It was stronger and 



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more brilliant. It survived the Captivity, and, though with- 
out a country, and scattered abroad among the nations, in the 
Jews of to-day the nation of Judah lives, the wonder of the 
world and of the nineteenth century. 

23. What elements contributed to the longevity of Judah f 

Five : (1) Its retired situation ; (2) the unity of its people ; 
(3) its concentration at Jerusalem ; (4) reverence for the House 
of David ; and (5) the comparative purity of its religion. 



24, What was the cause of the fall and captivity of Judah f 

Disloyalty to Jehovah. Idolatry and unholy alliances 
wrought her ruin. For these sins, which weakened and cor- 
rupted the people, God gave Judah into the hands of the King 
of Babylon, just as He had given Israel into the hands of the 
King of Assj-ria, and he carried it away captive, and held it 
so during the prophetic seventy years. 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 241 

25. WTiat became of JudaJi's country after the captivity ? 

Unlike Israel, the deportation of the people was not com- 
plete, the poor of the land being left as vine-dressers and hus- 
bandmen (2 Kings XXV. 12) ; and unlike Israel, also, no attempt 
was made to send colonists thither ; the providence of God 
thus keeping it in reservation, to be reoccupied by the Jewish 
people on the completion of their captivity. 

THE TWO SAMUELS. 

26. What are the contents of these two Books ? 

They contain a vivid narrative of the times of Eli, Samuel, 
Saul, and David. These are the persons about whom the his- 
tory moves and centres. The First Book details the inaugura- 
tion of the Monarchy and the reign of Saul, and the Second 
Book the splendid reign of King David. 

27. What is the dominant idea of the history? 

The Kingdom : its inauguration (1 Sam. viii.-xi.) ; its trans- 
lation from Saul the Apostate (1 Sam. xvi.) ; its deliverance 
from Absalom the Usurper and its establishment in the hands 
of David (2 Sam. xv.-xxii.). 

28. What led to the establishment of the monarchy ? 

The failure of the Theocracy under the Judges, the felt need 
of a strong central government, the benefits of which had 
already been experienced during the administration of Samuel, 
the base conduct of the wicked sous of the pious Eli (1 Sam. ii. 
12-25) and of the godly Samuel (1 Sam. viii. 1-4), and especially 
the worldly ambition of the people themselves, who wished to 
establish a secular state and be like the nations round about 
them (1 Sam. viii. 5-20). 

29. How is this substitution of a regal for republican rule 
regarded by Scripture f 

As being in the nature of a Religious Retrogression. It was 
the substitution of man's wisdom for God's way. 

30. What was the Divine Ideal of a kingdom for the chosen 
people ? 

(1) It was to be a Theocracy still — the king was to be the 
executive of Jehovah's will as the Supreme Ruler (1 Sam. xii. 

16 



242 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

13-15 ; xiii. 13, 14 ; xv. 26) ; (2) it was to be a Constitutional 
Monarchy — unlike other Oriental countries, the king should 
not be an absolute monarch, but be governed by a written law 
(1 Sam. X. 25) ; (3) it was to be regulated by the Prophets, who, 
like the British House of Commons, were a check upon the 
power of the king, as representatives both of God's will and 
the people's rights (1 Sam. xv. 16-23 ; 2 Sam. xii. 1-7). 

31. Who was instrumental in founding the monarchy 9 
Samuel, the prophet-judge, the link of connection between 

the republican and the regal rule in Israel. 

32. How do Saul and David compare as Kings? 

Saul, who at first accomplished great things for Israel (1 
Sam. xiv. 47, 48), was, upon the whole, a bitter disappointment 
and a dismal failure ; while David from first to last was a 
glorious success. Reigning as a theocratic king, he extended 
his empire from the frontier of EgN'pt to the Euphrates River, 
fulfilling the promise of Josh. i. 4. Under his vigorous admin- 
istration Israel reached the golden prime in its history. 

33. ^V7lat ivas remarkable about David as a King ? 

He was three times anointed : first at Bethlehem privately 
(1 Sam. xvi. 1-14) ; then at Hebron over Judah (2 Sam. ii. 4) ; 
and finally over all Israel (2 Sam. v. 1-5). As a man David 
sinned grievously, suffered sorelj^ and repented thoroughly ; 
while as a king, executing not his own will but that of Jeho- 
vah, he was " a man after His own heart" (1 Sam. xiii. 14). 

34. What are the 2^oetical pieces in the Sam,uels? 

Hannah's thanksgiving ode (1 Sam. ii. 1-10) ; the women's 
praise of David as conqueror (1 Sam. xviii. 7) ; David's "Bow 
Song" — his lament over the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 
Sam. i. 19-27) ; David's lament over the death of Absalom 
(2 Sam. xviii. 33 ; xix. 4) ; and his great thanksgiving ode for 
his victories over all his enemies (2 Sam. xxii. and Ps. xviii.) ; 
David's wish for water out of the old well (2 Sam. xxiii. 15). 

35. Wliat parables are recorded in the Samuels f 
Nathan's parable in rebuke of King David (2 Sam. xii. 1-4) ; 

and that of the women of Tekoah in reference to the return of 
Absalom (2 Sam. xiv. 4-24). 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 243 

36. What notable speeches are there in the Samuels f 

The Philistines' address to the soldiers (1 Sana. iv. 8, 9) ; Sam- 
uel's " King Stork" — a satire and invective against monarchy 
(1 Sam. xii. 6-15) ; Goliath's address to David and the strip- 
ling's response (1 Sam. xvii. 43-47) ; David's address to Saul 
upon the latter's escape out of the cave at Engedi (1 Sam. xxiv. 
9-15) ; Abigail's address to David (1 Sam. xxv. 24-31). 

37. WJiat are the miracles or supernatural interpositions in 

the Samuels f 

Fourtc^en : In the first Book — the opening of Hannah's womb 
(i. 6, 9-20) ; the prophecy against the house of Eli (ii. 27-36) ; 
the call of Samuel (iii.) ; the fall of Dagon before the Ark of 
Jehovah (v. 1-4) ; the punishment of the Beth-shemites for 
their sacrilegious curiosity (vi . 19, 20) ; the discomfiture of the 
Philistines at Mizpeh (vii. 3-12) ; the discovery of Saul (ix.) ; 
Saul's change of heart (x. 9) ; the Philistines' self-destruction 
(xiv. 1-16) ; the discovery of David (xvi. 1-13) ; the prophesying 
of Saul and his messengers (xix. 18-24) ; the ghost of Samuel 
(xxviii. 7-20) ; the punishment of David. for numbering the 
people (2 Sam. xxiv. 1-15) ; how the site of the Temple was 
selected (2 Sam. xxiv. 15-26). 

38. What remarkable instances of frie7ids7iip and devotion are 
found in the Samuels 9 

The friendship of David and Jonathan (1 Sam. xviii.-xx.) 
and the loyalty and devotion to David the King of Ittai the 
Gittite (2 Sam. xv. 19-23), and of Barzillai the Gileadite (2 Sam. 
xix. 31-39). 

39. What special instances of magnanimity are put to David's 
credit in the Samuels ? 

The sparing of Saul's life (1 Sam. xxiv., xxvi.) ; his kindness 
to Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan (2 Sam. ix.) ; his leni- 
ency to Shimei (2 Sam. xvi. 5-14 ; xix. 16-23) ; his readiness to 
die to save his people (2 Sam. xxiv. 17) ; and his refusal to 
drink the water procured at the risk of the lives of his follow- 
ers (2 Sam. xxiii. 15, 16). 

40. What are the instances of peculiar baseness recorded in 
the Samuels f 

First Book : That of the Sons of Eli and Samuel (ii. 12, 22 ; 



244 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

viii. 1-3) ; the chiding of David by his brother (xvii. 28) ; 
Saul's persecution of David (xviii. 8, 9, etc.) ; Saul's attempt 
upon the life of Jonathan (xx. 24-34) ; the treachery of the 
Keilites (xxiii.) ; Nabal's churlishness (xxv.). Second Book : 
The killing of Abner by Joab (iii. 17-39) ; the assassination of 
Ish-bosheth (iv.) ; the abuse of David's messengers by Hanun 
(x. 1-5) ; the murder of Uriah the Hittite (xi.) ; the forcing of 
his sister Tamar by Amnon (xiii.) ; Absalom's conspiracy 
(xv.-xviii.) ; Ahithophel's treason (xv. 31) ; the cursing of 
Shimei (xvi. 5-14) ; the slaying of Amasa by Joab (xx. 1-13). 

41. What special, instances of valorous conduct 'are recorded 
in the Samuels ? 

The assault upon the Philistine garrison by Jonathan and 
his armor-bearer (1 Sam. xiv. 1-16) ; the slaying of Goliath by 
David (1 Sam. xvii.) ; the heroism of Abigail (1 Sam. xxv.) ; the 
heroism of the men of Jabesh-gilead in relation to the dead 
bodies of Saul and Jonathan (1 Sam. xxxi.) ; the gratification of 
David's wish (2 Sam. xxiii. 15-17) ; the deeds of David's mighty 
men (2 Sam. xxi. 15-22 ; xxiii. 18-23). 

42. What rcmarl-ahlc illustration do these Books afford of a 
great man rising from small beginnings, and great events from 
small occurrences ? 

Saul, hitherto unknown to fame, in pursuit of his father's 
lost asses, and in obedience to his father's wishes, finds a 
kingdom (1 Sam. ix.). 

43. What marked instances of retribution are reco)'ded in the 
Samuels/ 

The punishment of Eli and his sons (1 Sam. ii.-iv.) ; of the 
Philistines for their treatment of the Ark of ^Jehovah (1 Sam. 
V.) ; of the Beth-shemites for their prying curiosity (1 Sam. vi.) ; 
of the assassins of Ish-bosheth (2 Sam. iv. 9-12) ; of David for 
his double crime (2 Sam. xi., xii.) ; of Amnon the seducer 
(2 Sam. xiii.) ; of Absalom (2 Sam. xviii.) ; of Sheba (2 Sam. 
XX.) ; the hanging of Saul's sons (2 Sam. xxi.). 

44. }]7iat ivomen distinguish themselves in these histories? 

Michal, David's wife, who saved his life hy a feminine arti- 
fice (1 Sam. xix. 8-17) ; Abigail, by her discreet conduct in pacify- 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 245 

ing David (1 Sam. xxv. 14-35) ; the woman of Tekoali by her 
parable (2 Sam. xiv. 1-20) ; the wise woman of Abel who saved 
the city by causing Sheba, the traitor, to be beheaded (2 Sam. 
XX. 1-22) ; Rizpah guarding the bodies of her slain sons (2 Sam. 
xxi. 1-10). 

45. W7iat instance of false repentance is there in the Samuels 9 

That of Saul upon discovering the consequences of his diso- 
bedience to the Divine commandment in the matter of the 
Amalekites (1 Sam. xv.). 

46. What remarkable case of suicide is herein recorded f 

That of Ahithophel, who, prototype of the arch-traitor him- 
self, in remorse and disgust, fitting end to an ignominious 
course, put his household in order and hanged himself (2 Sam. 
xvii. 23). Very singular. 

47. What unenviable character finds a place in this history 9 

Doeg the Edomite, informer, and executioner (1 Sam. xxi. 
7 ; xxii. 9-22). 

48. What type of Christ is found herein? 

David as king and conquering hero (2 Sam. xvii. 12-16). 

49. What inference is draiun by the higher critics from the 
silence of Judges^ Ruth, and these two Books of Samuel con- 
cerning the law of Moses ? 

From the fact, that in these four Historical Books, covering 
a period of more than 400 years, there is no specific allusion to 
tlie Pentateuchal legislation, it is argued that there could have 
been no such legislation in existence, and that therefore the 
so-called laws of Moses were not the laws of Moses at all, but 
the product of an age long subsequent to the times in which 
he lived ! 

50. What is the answer to this argximent f 

While it is true that there is no specific allusion to the 
written law of Moses in these Books, it is also true that during 
this period certain observances required by this law were kept 
more or less regularly, which argues the existence of the law, 



246 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

whatever may have been the reason for the silence of the 
sacred historians with regard to it (1 Kings ii. 3). 

51. What other thing respecting the Mosaic law is notable in 
these histories? 

The violation of some of its most specific and solemn re- 
quirements by some of the holiest men, as the earlier Judges, 
Samuel and David, each of whom builded altars and sacrificed 
on high places — both of which are illegitimate according to 
the Pentateuch (Deut. xii. 1-14 ; xvi. 21, 22)— not oni^^ with no 
apparent consciousness of transgression, but, on the contrarj'-, 
with strongest assurance of the Divine approval. 

52. What is' the explanation of this transgression of the Mo- 
saic law by these eminent men f 

The higher critics see in it a proof of their position that the 
law, at least as we now have it, was not then in existence ; 
hence where there was no law there was no transgression. 
The true explanation, however, is that in the case of Gideon, 
he acted under express Divine direction (Judges vi. 26), the 
neglect of the Tabernacle service being one of the prevailing 
sins of the time ; Samuel was a propliet and also under the 
direction of Jehovah, and in his day Shiloh, the place of the 
Tabernacle, was destroyed and no other place as yet chosen 
(1 Sam. vii. 17 ; ix.) ; David also acted by express command of 
God in building his altar (2 Sam. xxiv. 15-25) ; while the sacred 
historian justifies these departures from the letter (not the 
spirit) of the law, because the Temple was not yet built (1 
Kings iii. 2-4). If we knew all the circumstances of the time, 
all difficulty would disappear. It is our ignorance and not our 
knowledge that gives rise to perplexity about such matters. 

53. What is the character of the mortal teaching of these 
Books f 

Clear and luminous. Their ethical thoroughness when com- 
pared with almost any literature of equal antiquity is always 
remarkable. No evil is glossed over, and no sin extenuated. 
The historian tells the truth, no matter who sufTers. It is 
plain from these writings that the God of Israel is a God who 
loveth Righteousness and hateth Iniquity. 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 247 

54. How may the contents of the two Samuels be divided ? 

Into five sections: (1) Samuel the prophet-judge (1 Sam. 
i.-viii.) ; (2) Saul's career (1 Sam. ix.-xxxi.) ; (3) David, King 
over Judah (2 Sam. i.-v. 5) ; (4) David, King over all Israel 
(2 Sam. v. 6-xx.) ; (5) Appendix containing David's psalm of 
thanksgiving, his last words, and his punishment for number- 
ing the people, and the arrest of the judgment (2 Sam. xxi.- 
xxiv.). 

THE TWO KINGS. 

55. What is the fact about these two Books 9 

Like the two Samuels, they were originally one volume, and 
ought so to have remained. Rent in twain in the middle of 
the story of King Ahaziah, the first word of Second Kings, 
going on without so much as taking breath, from the last 
word of First Kings, the bisection is cruel, wanton, senseless. 
The same thing is true of the vivisection of the histories into 
chapters and verses. 

56. What are the contents of the two Kings ? 

Taking up the history of the monarchy with the last days of 
David — which should be joined to Second Samuel— the Books 
of Kings carry the story on to the time of the Exile, from 
Solomon to Zedekiah, a period of about 450 years. 

57. Who wrote these regal Books 9 

By comparing 2 Kings xxii. with Jeremiah lii., it will be seen 
that the two chapters are almost verbally the same, whence 
it is concluded that Jeremiah was the autiior. If the " weep- 
ing prophet," was not the author, then either he must have 
copied from the author, or the author from the prophet, or 
both from the same older and common public record. The 
history of the Kings was written during the Exile. 

58. What are the salient features of this history 9 

The splendid but corrupt reign of Solomon the son of David ; 
the secession of the Ten Tribes under Jeroboam ; the hostile 
relations of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah for 250 
years, by which both were weakened, and through unholj^ alii- 



248 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

ances corrupted, the result of which was the ruin of both, 
constitute the substance of these Books. 

59. How is the reign of Solomon regarded ? 

As the culminating period in Israelitish history — the Golden 
Age of the Hebrew Commonwealth. Strictly speaking, how- 
ever, only the latter part of David's reign and the early part 
of Solomon's can be thus properly designated ; for, amidst all 
its external splendors, the latter part of Solomon's reign was 
so honey-combed with evil and morally corrupt, that it is ques- 
tionable whether it was really a Golden or only a Gilded Age. 

60. For what luere Solomon and his reign celebrated f 

Personally, Solomon was famous for his Wealth, Wisdom, 
and Wantonness ; while his reign was distinguished for (1) his 
wide-extended empire ; (2) his extensive foreign relations ; (3) 
his buildings— chief among which were (a) the Temple — at 
once the greatest, the most costly, and tlie most famous, (6) 
his own palaces, (c) his fortified cities, {d) his aqueducts ; and 
(4) his Sins — chief among which were (a) his foreign marriages, 
and (6) his toleration of idolatry, if not actual participation in 
it. Everything in connection with Solomon and his reign was 
on a grand scale — even his sins— entitling him to be called Sol- 
omon the Magnificent (1 Kings ii.-xi.). 

61. How does the history of Solomon compare in compass with 
that of David f 

The whole of Solomon's forty years is compressed into about 
nine average chapters in First Kings, while the whole of Sec- 
ond Samuel and a large part of First Samuel are devoted to the 
exploits of David, his father. Nearly the half of the whole of 
Solomon's history is given up to the account of the building 
and dedication of the Temple (1 Kings v.-viii.). Only what 
makes directly for the glory of God finds an extended place in 
God's Book. David was the Hebrew hero. 

62. How is the disruption of the kingdom represented in the 
history f 

In a twofold way : As being (1) the Work of man, and (2) 
the Work of God. Both these factors, the human and the 
Divine, need to be taken into the account in order to a com- 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 249 

plete understanding of the case. The division was the natural 
outcome of human action, the result of certain social laws ; and 
at the same time it was the result of God's overrule, the inflic- 
tion of His judgment for the violation of His revealed Will 
(1 Kings ix. 1-10 ; xi. 9-13, 26-89). 

63. What were the human factors in the division ? 

Mainly four : (1) tribal jealousy — especially between Judah 
and Ephraim ; (2) the oppression under the reign of Solomon ; 
(3) the ambition of Jeroboam ; and (4) the immediate cause of 
the disruption — the insolent and tyrannical spirit — the supreme 
folly of Rehoboam (1 Kings xi. 26-39 ; xii. 1-16). 

64. How was the division a work of God ? 

In that, having a Moral cause, it was the j adgment of Jeho- 
vah upon the sin of idolatry. Long before the event God 
explained to Solomon its philosoj)hy (1 Kings xi. 9-13) ; and by 
His prophet He said to Rehoboam, " Tliis thing is from Me" 
(1 Kings xii. 21-24). The division of the Hebrew Common- 
wealth is Jehovah's proclamation to the nations of the earth 
of His sovereignty and supremacy in the affairs of men, and 
that He "rules the world in Righteousness, and His people 
with His Truth" (Ps. xcvi. 13). 



JEROBOAM. 

65. Who was the first king of the Ten Tribes ? 

Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Solomon's servant, a young man 
of talent, industry, and ambition, to whom God, by the 
prophet Ah ij ah, communicated His purpose to put him on the 
throne of tlie new kingdom, together with the conditions on 
which he was to have and to hold it (1 Kings xi. 26-39). 

66. Did Jeroboam meet the conditions on ivhich he received 
the kingdom ? 

No ; no sooner was he seated on the throne than this upstart 
monarch played the Heretic in that, in the matter of the 
Calves, he opposed himself to God and substituted his own 
will for that of Jehovah's. He inaugurated will-worship in 
Israel, and thereby sinned against the Lord, and laid the 



250 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

foundation of his own ruin and that of his kingdom (1 Kings 
xii. 26-xiii. 1-10). 

67. What are the counts in the indictment the sacred historian 
brings against Jeroboam 9 

Tliese are four : (1) lie changed the place of Divine worship 
(1 Kings xii. 28-30) ; (2) he changed the symbol of the True 
God (1 Kings xii. 28 ; Rom. i. 21-32) ; (3) he changed the Di- 
vinely appointed ministry (1 Kings xii. 31) ; (4) he changed 
the time of celebrating the great national festival, the Feast of 
Tabernacles (1 Kings xii. 32). 

68. What was the origin of Jeroboam,'' s sin ? 

This was twofold : (1) Jeroboamism — he put himself before 
God, and acted from Policy and not from Principle (1 Kings 
xii. 26, 27) ; and (2) want of Faith in the Word of Jehovah, 
Who had expressly guaranteed to him perpetuity and pros- 
perity on condition of his lo^-alty and obedience (1 Kings xi. 
38). 

69. What were the consequences of Jeroboanri's sin 9 

It left its impress, like a thing stamped in wax or struck in 
iron, on the soul of the nation. The will-worship of Jeroboam 
opened the way, as an evil precedent, for any and every change 
his successors saw fit to make. It prepared the nation for 
accepting the gross idolatry afterwards introduced by Ahab. 
Jeroboamism opened the way for Baalism. The descent was 
eas}^, but a step, from the worship of God by images to image- 
worship itself. Besides, the misguided king, pilloried in his 
transgressions, embalmed in his iniquity, preserved with the 
salt of his sins, comes down the ages branded as "Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." 

ISRAEL AND JUDAH. 

70. WJiat is the subsequent history of the rival thrones? 

During the 254 years which the northern kingdom, Israel, 
lasted, there was between the two rival principalities (1) a 
Period of Division ; (2) a Period of Alliance ; (3) a Period of Syr- 
ian Ascendancy over both ; (4) a Period of Israelitish Ascend- 
ancy when, under the prosperous but wicked reign of Jero- 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 251 

boam II., Israel was again dominant to the Euphrates, as in 
the days of Solomon (2 Kings xiv. 23-29) ; and (5) a Period of 
Assyrian Ascendancy, during which tlie Ten Tribes were car- 
ried away captive, and tlie kingdom of Jeroboam came to an 
end (2 Kings xvii. 1-6). 

71. How may the history of Judah be summarized ? 

During the nearly 400 years of its existence as an indepen- 
dent nation its history was marlied by alternating periods of 
Decline and Eevival, of Corruption and Reformation, till in 
matters of practice, religious, moral, and civil, going from bad to 
worse, its final decline and fall, and the captivity of its people. 

72. What was the history of Judah subsequent to the captivity 
of Israel ? ' 

During the 134 years which Judah outlasted Israel it had 
eight sovereigns, the wisest and best of whom wasHezekiah, 
who attained great power and wrought great reformations in 
the kingdom (2 Kings xviii.-xx.) ; but he was succeeded by his 
son Manasseh, who was the wickedest and reigned the longest 
(55 years) of any king either of Judah or Israel (2 Kings xxi. 
1-18). From the evil effects of the administration of this mad 
monarch, not even the vigorous efforts of the young reformer 
Josiah (2 Kings xxii.-xxiii. 1-30) could redeem the nation, 
which hence hurried rapidly to its fall (2 Kings xxiii. 31-xxv.). 
Of these eight rulers of Judah only two, Hezekiah and Josiah, 
were reputable. God-fearing monarchs. 

73. What ivere the causes of JudaNs decline and fall? 

These were two:^(l) Moral — the incurable evils of Manas- 
seh's wicked reign (2 Kings xxi. 10-17) ; and (2) Political— the 
Babylonian Ascendancy (2 Kings xxiii. 29-xxv.). 

THE LOST BIBLE. 

74. What is a notable fact in these histories respecting the 
Laio of Moses ? 

Their almost total silence in reference to it. For almost 1000 
years— from the Judges to the Captivity — the references to it 
are few and far between . There is no certain reference to any 



252 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



written legislation in ilie Judges, Ruth, or the two Samuels. 
Tlie first reference to it in connection with the history of Da- 
vid is on his dying bed (1 Kings ii. 3)— the first mention of a 
written law since the death of Joshua, 400 years before. After 
this there are but three other casual allusions to the law of 
Moses in the First Book of Kings, and in the Second Book 
only five (x. 31 ; xiv. G ; xvii. 13, 34, 37 ; xxi. 8), besides the ref- 
erence in xxii., xxiii., in connection with the finding of the 
Book of the Law in the time of Josiah, King of Judah. 

75. Are wc to infer from this circumstance that the people 
were in ignorance of the law of Moses all this time f 

No ; for in the early days it was the business of the priest- 
hood to instruct the people, thougli they frequently sadly neg- 
lected their duty or but imperfectly performed it, and in the 
times of the Monarchy tlie people were reminded of their duty 
"by the prophets and by all the seers" (2 Kings xvii. 13; 
2 Cliron. xvii. 7-10). 

76. How came the Book of the Law to be lost ? 

Copies were not so numerous then as Bibles are now, there 
being, so far as we know, but two co2)ies of the law in exist- 
ence — the original official copy (Deut. xxxi. 24, 26), and the 
copy for tlie use of the King (Deut. xvii. 18). Now, wicked 
kings like Manasseh and Amon, of course, made no use of 
their copy, and the corrupt priesthood neglected theirs, so that 
it is not at all wonderful that in the course of years a Book 
so little esteemed would be lost sight of entirely. A good 
many people even in our own day and land would perhaps be 
at a loss to laj' their hand on the Good Book, if they were un- 
expectedly called upon to produce it. In t-oo many even nom- 
inal Christian homes, the Bible is practically a lost Book ! 

77. To what did the finding of the lost Book lead? 

A mighty national reforination. By royal proclamation the 
true religion was exalted in the realm. The people with their 
monarch swore allegiance to Jehovah, and celebrated with 
grandeur the distinctive feast of the Passover. It was a cove- 
nant such as Moses had exacted, and Joshua and Samuel ; but 
it lacked the sincere consent of the masses of the people, as 
state ordinances generally do. It is not God in the Constitu- 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 253 

tion, or stamped upon the coin of a country that avails ; but 
God sacredly inscribed on the heart and wrought out in the 
life of the citizen. Lacking in this last respect, the reforma- 
tion under Josiali, though attended with great beneficial re- 
sults, was but temporary and superficial, hence the relapse 
soon after the good king's death. 

78. How do the higher critics look upon the Book diseovej'ed 
in the Temple by Hilkiah ? 

As a forgery cunningly devised by that High-priest ! — a sup- 
position as violent as it is unreasonable. To such desperate 
expedients, however, are they compelled to resort to support 
their theory of the post-exilian date of the Jewish polity and 
religion. 

ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 

79. WJiatnuere the great foi^mative forces in these Israelitish 
coinmoniuealths ? 

Three, the regal, priestly, and prophetic — king-power, priest- 
power, and prophet-power. And had not the latter power 
been neutralized by the other two forces, the peojDle would 
have been kept loyal to God, and the kingdoms survived till 
the coming of Christ. 

80. What tiuo prophets figw e conspicuously in the Kings ? 

Elijah and Elislia. These are the grand figures in this narra- 
tive ; much of the story revolves around them. As witnesses 
for the righteous Jehovah, they stand forth warning, rebuking, 
counselling kings and people ; the moral leadership by which 
Israel is chastened and corrected (they are prophets of Israel) 
and led in the way of righteousness expresses itself largely 
through their ministry (1 Kings xvii.-2 Kings xiii.). 

81. What luas the difference between Elijah and Elisha f 

The former among the grandest of men and the most illus- 
trious prophet since Moses, was a preacher of righteousness, a 
champion of Jehovah as against Baal ; while the latter ap- 
pears chiefly as a worker of prodigies, a predicter of future 
events, a revealer of secrets and things happening out of sight 
or at a distance. 



254 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

82. How do the miracles of EUsha compare as to number and 
character with those of Elijah f 

The miracles of Elijah were far less numerous, but much 
more striking and dramatic in character than those of Elisha ; 
the former having performed only two or three miracles, 
though the Lord did many wonderful things at his word ; 
while the miracles and prodigies of Elisha, on the other hand, 
number about fifteen. 

83. What are some of the most remarkable Tniracles ivrought 
by each ? 

Both raised the dead (1 Kings xvii. 17-23 ; 2 Kings iv. 8-17) ; 
Elijah opened and shut heaven (1 Kings xviii. 42-45) ; and 
brought down fire and water with prayer (1 Kings xviii. 17-46 ; 
Jas. v. 17, 18) ; like Elijah, Elisha parted the Jordan (2 Kings 
ii. 14) ; purified the waters of Jericho (2 Kings ii. 19-22) ; multi- 
plied the widow's oil (2 Kings iv. 1-7) ; cured the poisonous 
pottage (2 Kings iv. 38-41) ; fed a hundred men with twenty 
loaves (2 Kings iv. 42-44) ; cured Naaman, the Syrian leper, 
and transferred his leprosy to the covetous and lying Gehazi 
(2 Kings V. 1-27) ; made iron to swim (2 Kings vi. 1-7) ; caused 
Benhadad's army to be smitten with blindness, and his own 
servant's eyes to be opened that he might see the multitude 
of the angelic hosts which guarded him (2 Kings vi. 13-23) ; 
while, after death, a dead man is restored to life by simple 
contact with the prophet's bones in his sepulchre (2 Kings 
xiii. 20, 21). 

84. What were the chief predictions and revelations of Elisha ? 

The miraculous supply of water to Jehoshaphat (2 Kings iii. 
17) ; the birth of a son by the Shunammite (2 Kings iv. 8-17) ; 
seven years' famine (2 Kings viii. 1) ; discovered the secret 
counsels of Benhadad (2 Kings vi. 8-12) ; foretold the relief of 
Samaria (2 Kings vi. 23-vii.) ; and predicted the death of 
Benhadad, as well as the cruelty and wickedness of Hazael 
(2 Kings viii. 7-15). 

85. What is the whole number of m,iracles or supernatural 
interpositions recorded in the two Kings ? 

Thirty-three. Of these eleven are by, or in connection with, 
Elijah ; fifteen by Elisha ; two appearances to Solomon (1 Kings 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 255 

iii. 2 ; ix. 2) ; Jeroboam smitten with leprosy and cured again 
(1 Kings xiii. 1-6) ; the disobedient prophet slain by a lion at 
the word of the man of God (xiii. 11-32) ; thi^ee in connection 
with and in the days of Hezekiah (when miracles in Old Tes- 
tament times ceased), viz., the destruction of Sennaclierib's host 
(2 Kings xix. 35, 36) ; the lengthening of Hezekiah's life, and 
the turning back of the shadow ten degrees on the dial (2 
Kings XX. 1-11). 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

86. What remarkable prediction meets with an undesigned 
fulfilment in the Kings ? 

That respecting the destruction of Jeroboam's altars — a pre- 
diction made 300 years before Josiah was born, and whose 
wicked father had no idea he was fulfilliug prophecy w^hen he 
called his son by that name (1 Kings xiii. 3 ; 2 Kings xxi, 24 ; 
xxiii. 15-20). 

87. What type of Christ have ive in the Kings f 

The reign of Solomon, the most peaceful, prosperous, and 
glorious of the Hebrew history, shadows forth in these respects 
the reign of Christ (Ps. Ixxii.). The gorgeous Solomon and 
the humble Jesus wear one badge— the White Rose of Peace ; 
the one above his crown of gold and the other amid His 
Crown of Thorns ? 

88. What poetical pieces are found in these histoiHes ? 

None : in neither Book of Kings is there a hymn or a song 
recorded or referred to. 

89. What prophecies of Christ are to he found in the Kings ? 

None ; no direct prophecies. It should be born in mind, how- 
ever, that it was during this period — particularly from the time 
of Jeroboam II.— that the prophets principally flourished ; and 
the " testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy" (Acts x. 
43 ; Rev. xix. 10). 

90. What parables are there in the Kings f 

Only that of the prophet about the lost prisoner, in rebuke 
of Ahab's lenity in sparing Benhadad (1 Kings xx. 35-43). 



256 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



91. What notable speeches are recorded in the Kings f 

David's charge to Solomon (1 Kings ii. 2-11) ; Rabshakeh's 
railings (2 Kings xviii. 19-24, 29-35 ; xix. 10-13) ; Isaiah's re- 
ply to Rabshakeh's gasconade (2 Kings xix. 20-34). 

92. What prayers are recorded in Kings ? 

That of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 
viii. 12-53), and that of Hezekiah in view of Sennacherib's inva- 
sion (2 Kings xix. 15-19) 

93. What notable women figure in these histories f 

Abishag, the young and beautiful companion of David's old 
age (1 Kings i. 4), and who cost Adonijah his hfe (1 Kings ii. 
13-25) ; the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings x. 1-13) ; Jezebel, " that 
wicked woman," Queen of Israel (1 Kings xvi. 29-2 Kings ix.) ; 
Athaliah, daughter of Jezebel and Ahab, the usurper and regi- 
cide (2 Kings xi. 1-16) ; the Shunammite (2 Kings iv. 1-37) ; and 
Huldah the prophetess (2 Kings xxii. 8-20). 

94. What sptecially dramatic scenes are to be found in the 
Kings 9 

In the First Book : the Queen of Sheba at the court of Solo- 
mon (x. 1-13) ; Ahijah announcing to Jeroboam his regal 
future (xi. 26-39) ; the revolt of the Ten Tribes (xii. 12-16) ; the 
scene between Jeroboam and the prophet at the dedication of 
the altar at Bethel (xiii. 1-10) ; the visit of Jeroboam's wife to 
Ahijah the prophet (xiv. 1-19) ; the various scenes in Elijah's 
hfe : his first appearance to Ahab (xvii. 1), in the house of the 
widow of Zarephath (xvii. 8-24) ; on Mount Carmel (xviii.) ; at 
Horeb (xix.) ; surprising Ahab in Naboth's vineyard (xxi. 17- 
24). In the Second Book : the parting between Elijah and 
Elisha and the translation of the former (ii. 1-15) ; the raising 
of the Shunammite's son (iv.) ; the curing of Naaman (v.) ; the 
attempted capture of EUsha at Dothan by the Syrians and his 
capture of his would-be captors (vi. 8-23) ; the rehef of Samaria 
(vii.) ; the appearance of the Shunammite and her son to the 
king (viii. 1-6) ; the exciting scenes in Jehu's reign (ix., x.) ; 
the scene in the Temple at the deposition and death of Athaliah 
(xi.) ; the scene at Ehsha's death-bed (xii. 14-21) ; the scenes 
in connection with Sennacherib's invasion and the destruction 
of his host (xviii., xix.) ; the scenes in connection with the 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 257 

finding of the Book of the Law (xxii., xxiii.) ; and the captive 
kings in chains (xxiv., xxv.). 

95. What instances of the evil of intemperance are recorded 
in the Kings ? 

Baasha, king of Israel, is assassinated while on a debauch 
(1 Kings xvi. 8-10), and Benhadad, the Syrian king, is sur- 
prised and his forces routed from a like cause (1 Kings xx. 1-21). 

96. What remarkable illustration of the clemency of Jehovah 
is found in these records ? 

The reprieve of Ahab upon evidence of his repentance, even 
though it were not genuine, but only outside (1 Kings xxi. 
25-29). 

97. What are the grand m,oral lessons of the Kings ? 

That Jehovah is the supreme factor in history, and His 
will the greatest known power ; that the fulfilment of the 
threatenings and promises of Jehovah are alike certain ; that 
righteousness exalts a nation and sin ruins it ; that sin brings 
sorrow, and the way of the transgressor hard ; that grace is 
not hereditary, while sin is ; that Jehovah is not bound by 
the laws of primogeniture and precedency ; that true religion 
is inseparable from the real prosperity and permanence of any 
people ; that the wickedness of men cannot frustrate or prevent, 
though it may apparently delay, the accomplishment of the 
gracious purpose of God. 

98. What is the general character of these histories f 

Throbbing with the supernatural, alive with the marvellous, 
they are more fascinating than any romance. The truth in 
them is stranger than any fiction. They abound with the 
most striking illustrative matter for both preacher and teacher. 
Here the spiritual marksman may find plenty of feathers for 
the arrows of truth. 

99. ITow may the contents of the Books of Kings he divided f 

Into three parts : (1) The reign of Solomon (1 Kings i.-xi.) ; 
(2) from the Division of the kingdom to the Captivity of Israel 
(1 Kings xii.-2 Kings xvii.) ; (3) from Hezekiah to the Cap- 
tivity of Judah (2 Kings xviii.-xxv.). 

17 



258 THE TEMPLE OPEMED. 

THE TWO CHRONICLES. 

100. What is the nature of these Books f 

Originally but one volume, as they are now in the Hebrew 
Canon, and ought to be in ours, beginning with Adam and 
carrying the narrative on down to the Captivity of Judah, the 
story of Clironicles parallels that of all the previous Books of 
Scripture from Genesis to Second Kings, and is therefore an 
epitome of all sacred history from the earliest times up to that 
point, embracing a period of nearl^-^ 3500 years. 

101. Did this history always hear its present title f 

No; it was originally by the Jews called "Events of the 
Times," or "Annals," that is, of course, of the Hebrew Com- 
monwealth. The Greek translators, the LXX., in the Septu- 
agint called it " Paralipomena," "Leavings," "Things Left 
Ov^er," that is, "Supplements." The title "Chronicles," by 
which it is now known, was given to it by Jerome about 
400 A.D. 

102. Is this title suggestive of the contents of these Books ? 

No ; it is neither an index to the contents nor a key to the 
purpose of the history'. It is altogether too vague and indefinite. 
The "Kings" are as much, if not more truly, chronicles as 
the "Chronicles" themselves. As a guide to their contents, a 
suggestive title would be — The History of Judah — for such it 
substantially is ; while if the title of the Books were deter- 
mined by their practical purpose and dominant drift — The 
True Theocracy ; or. Obedience to the Mosaic Law and Ritual 
the Glory of Israel — would be the key to the work. 

103. By whom and when were the Chronicles written f 

The tradition is that they were the work of Ezra, but unless 
ill. 19 be an interpolation by a later hand, it is clear from that 
passage that the Chronicler must have lived and written at 
least two generations after Ezra, about 350 B.C., and almost 200 
years after the earlier and parallel history in the " Kings" was 
finished. This is the conclusion of the best scholarship of the 
day. Whatever his name, the author was beyond doubt a 
Levite — a priestly Scribe, 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 259 

104. What is the sou7'ce of the Chronicles f 

About this Doctors differ. Some hold that the basis of this 
later narrative was our canonical Bool?:s of Kings ; others that 
the Chronicler did not have before him our " Kings" at all, but 
that the authors of both histories drew from a certain great 
Booli of Kings now lost and referred to under a variety of 
names in the story itself; and that this common source will 
account for the strict parallelisms of the two narratives, and 
also for their variations, the Chronicler having other special 
sources which the earlier historian had not. The trutli, doubt- 
less, lies between these two extremes. 

105. What is an outline of the Chronicle history f 

Tracing the chosen seed in an unbrolien chain from Adam 
to David, and tlience to Judah's last king, having nothing to 
add to tlie Pentateuch, and in the period from Moses to David 
finding little to serve his purpose, the Chronicler contracts the 
earlier history into a series of genealogies, until he reaches the 
point (1 Chron. x.) when the kingdom is transferred from Saul 
to David, whence the history becomes fuller and runs i)arallel 
with the Samuels and Kings. 

106. What does a co7npa7'ison of the parallel narratives 

reveal ? 

Three things : (1) that the Chronicler omits much that earlier 
history recites, but which does not suit his purpose ; that (2) 
he adds a good deal which is wanting in the older narrative, 
but which is necessary to the working out of his purpose ; and 
that (3), while the main facts of the history are substantially 
the same in the two narratives, in minor matters tlie disagree- 
ments and contradictions are numerous and striking. 

107. What are the more important omissions in Chronicles 9 

None of the shadows on David's life are mentioned. His 
own double crime, the base conduct of Amnon, the rebellion of 
Absalom and the usurpation of Adonijah, and the charge of 
vengeance to Solomon — all which appear in the earlier — are left 
out of the later narrative entirely. The circumstances of 
Solomon's accession, and many details as to the wisdom and 
splendor of that sovereign, as also his fall into idolatry, are 



260 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

wanting ; while later on the Ten Tribes are almost ignored, 
the whole story being occupied with the affairs of Judah. 

108. What are the more impo7^tant additions in Chronicles ? 

These consist (1) of the statistical list (1 Chron. xii.j ; (2) of the 
full details on points connected with the history of the Temple 
and the great feasts or the archaeology or antiquities of the Le- 
vitical ministry (1 Chron. xiii., xv., xvi., xxii.-xxix. ; 2 Chron. 
xxix.-xxxi.) ; (3) of narratives of victories and defeats, of sins 
and punishments, of obedience and its reward, such as could be 
made to point a plain religious lesson in favor of faithful ob- 
servance of the law (2 Chron. xiii., xiv. 9, etc. ; xx., xxi. 11). 

109. What are the main discrepancies between the two narra- 
tives ? 

Besides those which are mere differences in numbers, which 
are very liable to corruption, there are the apparent contra- 
dictions between 2 Sam. xxiv. and 1 Chron. xxi. 1, 2 ; 1 Kings 
ix. 11 and 2 Chron. viii. 2 ; 1 Kings xv. 14 and 2 Chron. xiv. 3 ; 
and the two accounts of tiie coronation of the young King 
Jehoash found in 2 Kings xi. 4-16 and 2 Chron. xxiii. 1-15. 

110. What is peculiar about the variations in the figures and 
statistics of the two narratives ? 

They are nearly all one way. The larger number is in the 
text of the Chronicler, on which account inferences unfavora- 
ble to that author have often been drawn ; being charged with 
exaggeration, if not wilful distortion, of the facts in the case. 

111. How are these differences in the two narratives accounted 
for? 

As to the additions and omissions it is agreed that these were 
determined by the purpose of the Chronicler who wrote not in 
purely historical interests, but with the view to inculcate a 
single practical lesson ; while as to the variations in numbers 
and contradictions in statements of fact three diverse views are 
entertained : (1) that they are all due to errors in transmission 
—mistakes of copyists ; (2) that they are sheer fabrications on 
the part of the Chronicler ; and (3) that, without being guilty 
of any intentional falsification of fact, the Chronicler was sim-r 
ply reflecting the spirit of his own time, and having in his 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 261 

mird an Ideal wrote about things not as they actually were, 
but as, from his post-exile, priestly view, they ought to have 
been. According to this last view the practical aim and 
standing-point of the writer determined the exaggerations as 
well as his omissions and additions. 

112. What is the great difference between the ttvo narratives? 

The relative prominence accorded to the ordinances of wor- 
ship. Jerusalem and the Temple have not the central place in 
the Kings that they hold in the Chronicles. In the latter these 
are in tlie foreground, and instead of the humble prophet in 
homely garb, the mitred priest and liveried Levite are aswarm 
in the Chronicles, being constantly brought into prominence 
and their office and order magnified in the narrative. Chroni- 
cles is a priestly, as the earlier history is a prophetic, volume. 
The relation between the Chronicles and the Samuels and 
Kings is something like that between the Fourth Gospel and 
the Synoptics. 

113. What^ then, is the ruling idea of the Chronicles 9 

This is theocratic. Human kingdoms must represent God- 
rule. Only while He is recognized and reverenced ; only as 
Temple worship is neither neglected nor corrupted, can there 
be true prosperity. The attitude of the king to the King of 
Kings is here shown to be the key of national history, with its 
rewards or penalties. As the True Theocracy, Obedience to the 
Law is the Glory of Israel. 

114. Hoiu may the agreement and difference between the 
Kings and the Chronicles be concisely stated f 

The former concern both kingdoms and are political and 
kingl^^ ; tlie latter concern Judah only, and are ecclesiastical 
and priestly. One, the Kings, as a record of history annalizes; 
the other, the Chronicles, as a philosophy of history, analyzes. 
In Kings we find wars, idolatries, offences ; in Chronicles, de- 
liverances, repentance, reformation. In one idolatry is treason 
against the Supreme King ; in the other, apostasy from the 
Covenant God (Cf. 2 Kings xviii. 7-23 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14-21). 

115. What deliverances are herein recorded as wrought for 
Judah f 

Four : under Abijah, against Jeroboam ; under Asa, against 



262 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

the Ethiopians; under Jehoshaphat, against the Moabites ; 
and under Hezekiah, against the Ass^n-ians ;— and in every 
instance success is attributed to God's fighting for Judah 
(2 Chron. xiii. 18 ; xiv. 11 ; xx. 27 ; xxxii. 21, 22). 

116. What is the value of the genealogical tables which occupy 
so large a space in the Chronicles 9 

To us they are neither valuable nor interesting ; but to the 
post-exilian Jew whom it concerned to prove the purity of his 
Hebrew descent (Ezra ii. 59, 63) they were both interesting and 
important. Pedigree was as important to them as clear titles 
to property are to us Besides, they have interest for us, too, in 
that they give the sacred line through which the Promise was 
transmitted for nearly 3500 years— a fact itself unexampled in 
the history of the human race. 

117. What poetical pieces are in Chronicles f 

David's psalm of thanksgiving on bringing the Ark to Jeru- 
salem (1 Chron. xvi. 8-86), and his thanksgiving and prayer 
in view of the people's liberality in providing materials for 
building the Temple (1 Chron. xxix. 10-19). 

118. What parable is in this history ? 

That of Joash, King of Israel, by way of dissuading Amaziah, 
King of Judah, from going to war (2 Chron. xxv. 17-19). 

119. What notable speech is recorded herein f 

Abijah's address to Jeroboam — a dissuasion against war 
(2 Chron. xiii. 4-12). 

120. What prayers are among these records 9 

That of Jabez— a well in a wilderness of names— an apple- 
tree among the trees of the wood (1 Chron. iv. 9, 10), and Solo- 
mon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple (2 Chron. vi.). 

121. What miracles are found in the Chronicles? 

In this respect these Books are in full contrast with the 
earlier history ; for while in the Samuels and Kings there are 
nearly fifty miracles or supernatural interpositions, they are 
for the most part conspicuous by their absence in the Chroni- 



THE THREE DOUBLES. 263 

cles, in the parallel history, there being less than half a dozen, 
all told, and not one peculiar to the Chronicler. 

122. What very old man is rtientloned in this history f 

Jehoiada, the priest, who was 130 years old at his death (2 
Chron. xxiv. 15). 

123. What is the special value of the Chronicle history 9 

Not only for what it directly teaches, but for the light it in- 
directly throws upon its own time — upon the religious spirit 
and ordinances in the Theocracy as it was after Ezra— it is 
invaluable. What the Jews of the Persian Monarchy were 
thinking, how they regarded the older history, how they were 
preparing the way for the Scribes and Pharisees, for the Cruci- 
fixion and the Roman war, for the Talmud and Bar-cochba — 
(the leader in the insurrection against the Romans from 131 to 
135 A.D.) — this is made known in the Chronicles as in no 
other Book of the Bible. 

124. How is the history divided between the two Chronicles ? 

The whole of the First Book, save the Genealogies at the be- 
ginning, is devoted to tlie reign of David, and corresponds with 
Second Samuel ; the first nine chapters of the Second Book are 
given to the reign of Solomon, corresponding to the same part 
of First Kings ; and tlie remainder of the Book to Solomon's 
successors from Rehoboam to Zedekiah, which parallels the 
history in the Kings from the close of Solomon's reign (1 Kings 
xii.) to the Captivity. 

125. What is the dominant thought of the Three Doubles ? 

That the favor of Jehovah is essential to enduring national 
prosperity. 



264 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE HEBREW CAPTIVITIES. 

1. How many captivities did the Jews suffer f 

Besides the Bondage in Egypt and their subjugation at 
different times by the PhiUstines and other nations, the Jews 
reckon tlieir national captivities as Four : the Babylonian, 
Median, Grecian, and Roman. 

2. What is the difference between the captivity of Israel and 
that of Judah 9 

(1) That of Israel took place B.C. 721, and that of Judah 
B.C. 587—134 years after that of Israel ; (2) Israel was taken 
captive by the Assyrians under Sargon ; Judah by the Chal- 
deans under Nebuchadnezzar ; (3) Israel was taken to the 
lands south of the Caspian Sea (2 Kings xvii. 6) ; Judah to 
Chaldea, by the river Euplirates (Ps. cxxxvii. 1) ; (4) Israel 
never returned from its captivity, while Judah survived and 
came back and again became a flourishing state, though never 
again an independent nationality. 

3. What is the difference between these two conquering na- 
tions f 

When Israel was taken captive, Assyria and Babylon were 
one ; that is, Babylon was a province of the Assyrian Empire. 
Shortly after the Israelitish captivity, Assyria was conquered 
by the Medes and Persians, and the vast Empire was divided 
into two, as Israel itself had been, and Babylon became the 
capital of the Southern section, which was the power under 
Nebuchadnezzar tliat carried Judah away captive. Subse- 
quently the same Medes and Persians conquered Babylon it- 
self, under Cyrus who, as had been foretold (Isa. xliv. 28 ; xlv. 
1-7), was employed by Jehovah in the execution of His de- 
signs of mercy towards the Jews. 

4. In what did the Babylonian Captivity differ from the 
others ? 

In the forcible deportation of the Jews from their native 
land — Palestine — and their forcible detention under the As- 
syrian or Babylonian kings. 



THE HEBREW CAPTIVITIES. 



265 




^^^ THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

5. Bid the Babylonian Captivity take place at oncef 

No ; the Exile was not one great deportation of the people, 
but a series of removals that, from the earliest captivity of 
Israel, B.C. 722, to the final captivity of Judah, B.C. 588, ex- 
tended over a century and a half (152 years). 

6. How many captivities of Judah wei^e there ? 

Three— all in one generation and all under the one Chaldean 
king, Nebuchadnezzar : (1) Jehoiakim's Captivity (2 Kings 
xxiv. 1 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6). This prince was not taken to 
Babylon, though bound in chains for that purpose. Daniel 
and his friends were caried to Babylon at this time, 607 B.C. 
(2) Jehoiachin's Captivity {alias Jeconiah and Coniah). With 
this prince were carried to Babylon thousands of the people of 
the middle classes whom the land could ill spare. Among 
these was the prophet Ezekiel (2 Kings xxiv. 8-16). (3) Zede- 
kiah's Captivity— twenty years after the first. This last of 
Judah 's monarchs was blinded and carried away with the 
people who were left alive (2 Kings xxv. 1-11). 

7. What relation were the last four kings of Judah 9 

Jehoiakim, Jehoahaz, and Zedekiah were brothers, the sons 
of the good King Josiah. Jehoiachin was the son of Jehoiakim, 
and nephew of Zedekiah and Jehoahaz. 

8. Uoiv long did the captivity of Judah last, and how is it 
reckoned ? 

It lasted 70 years (Jer. xxv. 12), and may be reckoned either 
from the Destruction of tlie First Temple— Solomon's— to the 
Dedication of the Second— Zerubbabel's— 588-518 B.C., or from 
the First Invasion of Nebuchadnezzar to the Decree of Cvrus 
606-536 B.C. ' 

9. How were the people treated in their captivity? 

Not as slaves, but as colonists. There was nothing to hinder 
a Jew from rising to the highest eminence in the state (Dan. 
ii. 48), or holding the most confidential office near the person 
of the king (Neh. i. 11). Following the advice of Jeremiah 
(xxix. 5, etc.), the exiles increased in numbers and wealth. 
They had no Temple service, of course, but they were allowed 



THE HEBREW CAPTIVITIES. 267 

to observe their national customs, and doubtless built syna- 
gogues, which were afterwards to be found in every city. 

10. From ivhat Bible Books do we learn most of the condition 
of the children of the captivity ? 

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Several of the Psalms, 
notably the 137th, appear to express the sentiments of the 
Jews who were either partakers or witnesses of the Assyrian 
Exile. 

11. How did the captivity stand related to prophecy ^ 

It had been foretold in the very order in which it actually 
took place — Israel first, Judah after. Hosea, Amos, and Isa- 
iah all announce the earlier downfall and utter desolation of 
Israel ; while the captivity of Judah was first expressly fore- 
told in the reign of Hezekiah (Isa. xxxix. 2 ; 2 Chron. xxxii. 
27). 

12. What do the prophets assign as the reason and purpose 

of the captivity f 

They represent it as a judicial visitation for an extent of sin 
and corruption not otherwise to be purged away ; and as de- 
signed, not for punishment to their destruction, but for disci- 
pline to repentance and humiliation. 

13. How many persons in all ivere carried captive? 
Probably 500,000— a half a million. 



268 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

EZRA— NEHEMIAH— ESTHER. 
RELATION OF THESE BOOKS. 

1. JVhi/ are these three Books thus linked together ? 

For two reasons : (1) Because they treat of the same period 
in Jewish history — tlie Restoration ; and (2) because Ezra and 
Nehemiah were originally but one Book, while Esther is a 
brief appendix containing a historical episode of the Captivity, 
which took place ^n the reign of Ahasuerus (Ezra iv. 4-7), and 
sustains to the preceding historj'^, Ezra-Nehemiah, the same 
relation that Ruth does to the Judges. 

2. What relation does Ezra-Nehemiah sustain to the Chron- 
icles ? 

Not only were these Books only parts of one volume, but 
there are conclusive reasons for believing that they and the 
two Chronicles were originally but one Book. Comparing 2 
Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23 with Ezra's opening verses it will be seen 
how they were originally one ; and how the manuscript was 
torn in two in the wrong place ; so that the Book of Chronicles 
actually ends in the middle of a sentence, which is only com- 
pleted in the second half of the third verse of the opening 
chapter of Ezra. The purpose of the Chronicler evidently was 
to form a continuous narrative (if narrative it may be called, 
where so much is genealogical) from Adam to the Persian 
monarchy. The Chronicles bring the storj' up to the Captiv- 
itj'^ ; while the Ezra-Nehemiah part of the volume carry it on 
through the Restoration Era. 

3. How are these two Books related to each other ? 

They are companion Books, and regarded by the Hebrews 
as one. Both treat of the Return from Babylon and the Res- 
toration and Reorganization ; the former of ecclesiastical his- 
tory and the rebuilding of the Temple under Zerubbabel ; the 
latter of civil history and the rebuilding of the city under 
Nehemiah. Together they present a complete picture of post- 
captivity reconstruction, and reorganization in both Church 
and State. 



EZRA. 269 



THE RESTORATION. 

4. What is meant hy the Restoration ? 

The return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity to 
their native land at the expiration of the prophetic 70 years. 

5i Did the exiles all return f 

No ; probably not more than 60,000 availed themselves of the 
privilege granted them by the proclamation of Cyrus to return 
to the land of their fathers. 

6. Did these all return at the same time? 

No ; their successive removals extended through a century 
and a half, and their successive returns through nearly a 
century. 

7. When did these successive returns take place f 

The first was under the leadership of Zerubbabel, B.C. 536, 
when some 50,000 persons (Ez. ii. 64, 65) returned ; the second 
under Ezra nearly eighty years later (B.C. 458), when about 
6000 in all returned ; thirteen years after the coming of Ezra 
(B.C. 445) came Nehemiah with a very small company whose 
number is not given. Other bands still later, doubtless, sought 
the City and Temple of their God, but these are all of which 
any record is made in the Scripture. 



EZRA. 

8. WTio was Ezra f 

Born in exile, he was an Aaronic priest, a Scribe learned in 
the law, the originator of the Synagogue, and the compiler of 
the Old Testament Canon. He was a great man among the 
Jews, lived, it is said, to be 120 years old, the same age as 
Moses, and was regarded by the people as being only second to 
the Great Lawgiver in the services he rendered their religion. 

9. What are the contents of the Book of Ezra 9 

These fall naturally into three divisions : (1) an account of 
the return of Zerubbabel and his company (i.-ii.) ; (2) an 



270 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

account of the rebuilding and rededication of the Temple 
(iii.-vi.) ; and (3) an acccount of Ezra's coming to Jerusalem 
and the reformations which he wrought (vii.-x.). 

10. What prophecies do the events recorded in Ezra fulfil f 

Those of Isaiah (xliv. 28) and Jeremiah (xxv. 12 and xxix. 
10) — one of whom had predicted the name of their deliverer, 
tlie other the exact time of their deliverance as well as the 
state of heart with which it should be accompanied (xxix. 
12-14 ; xxxi. 8, 9, etc.). 

11. What are the remarkable manifestations of the providence 
of God recorded in this history f 

His wonderfully inclining the hearts of several heathen 
princes, Cjrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (Prov. xxi. 1), to favor 
and protect His people, and to aid them in rebuilding their 
city and Temple ; besides, too, His overruling the opposition 
of the Samaritans, the decree of Darius being much more 
favorable than that of Cyrus (i., v., and vi.). 

12. T\liat 2'>^'02yhcfs seconded the efforts of Zeruhbahel in re- 
building the Temple'? 

Haggai and Zechariah (Ez. v. 1). 

13. What remarhahle specimens of state papers or official 
coi^respondence arc there in this Book f 

The letters of Tatnai, the governor, to Darius, the king, 
together with the royal decree in response thereto (v. and vi. 
1-12), as also the letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra (vii. 11-26). 

14. What remarkable prayer is recorded in this Book ? 

Ezra's confession, in which he bewails and laments the sins 
of his people (ix. 6-15). 

15. What is remarkable about this Book 9 

Its genealogical lists ; in which respect it is like Chronicles. 
The list of Zerubbabel's company given in ii. is reproduced in 
Nehemiah vii. The Book covers a period of about 80 years — 
B.C. 536-457. 



NEHEMIAH. 271 



NEHEMIAH. 

16. What is known of Nehemiah ? 

Nothing save what he tells of himself in the charming au- 
tobiography which bears his name. He was a Jew born in 
exile, and, Daniel-like, elevated to high place at the Persian 
court, but who, nevertheless, loved the land of his fathers and 
the city of his God. He is a noble example of exalted pa- 
triotism — a Model Governor and Statesman. 

17. What were the strong points of Nehemiah'' s character f 

He was a man of faith, bold, resolute, energetic, with pecu- 
liar prayerfulness and reserve power. He stood like an anvil, 
till the hammers of opposition wore themselves out beating 
against him. He was a Reformer as well as a Rebuilder. 

18. To what^ under God, was NehemiaNs success due f 

To thorough organization. He was a Model Organizer, prov- 
ing the worth of method and system. His five 2orinciples were : 
(1) Division of Labor; (2) Adaptation of Work and Worker ; 
(3) Honesty and Economy in administration ; (4) Co-operation 
in labor ; (5) Concentration at any assaulted point. 

19. Wliat remarkable prayers are recorded in this Book f 

That of Nehemiah for Divine direction and success in his 
patriotic purpose (i. 5-11), and the Levites' Confession (ix.), in 
which we have an instructive summary of the history of the 
Jews in its most important light, showing at once the mighty 
contrast between what God is and what men are. 

20. What great occasions are divelt upon herein ? 

The celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (viii.) and the 
Dedication of the Walls (xii. 27-43). 

21. What example of the true idea of preaching and Scrip- 
ture reading is given in this Book f 

The reading and exposition of the Law as set forth in viii. 
1-8. This is the only place in which the word "pulpit" is 
mentioned in the Bible. 



272 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

22. In what respect is this Book especially valuable f 

As a moral history, being peculiarly rich in illustration of 
Divine philosophy — that is, of true religion taught by exam- 
ple — facts which illustrate principles. 

23. What was remarkable about the rebuilding of the walls 
of Jerusalem ? 

The celerity with which the work was accomplished, not- 
withstanding the difficulties in the way, and the active op- 
position the builders encountered. The work was comipleted 
in only fifty-two days (iii.-vi. 15). 

24. What prophet co-operated with Ezra and Nehemiah in 
their work ? 

Malachi— the last of the Old Testament prophets. 

25. Who were the leading opponents of Nehemiah in his 
work f 

Sanballat, the Horonite, Tobiah, the Ammonite, and Geshem, 
the Arabian — typical obstructionists (ii. 19). 

26. What is especially notable about the Book of Nehemiah f 

It is tlie latest of all the historical Books of the Bible. With 
this history closes Old Testament story, Esther, which comes 
after it in the Canon, being the narrative of an event which 
took place before the* time of Nehemiah. The Book covers a 
period of some 36 years. 

27. Who wrote Ezra-Nehemiah f 

Portions of each are, doubtless, the work of the two great 
men whose names they bear ; but additions were made by the 
Chronicler when incorporating them into his history. Ezra 
was partly written in the Chaldee or Aramaic (Ezra iv. 12; 
vi. 18 ; vii. 13-27). With the exceptions of some short sections 
in the Book of Daniel, and a few verses in Jeremiah, this is 
the only portion of our Old Testament that was not written 
originally in Hebrew. 

28. How may the contents of this Book be divided f 

Into three parts : (1) Nehemiah's narrative of his departure 
from Shushan, his arrival at Jerusalem, and his rebuilding of 



ESTHER. 273 

the Walls (i.-vii.) ; (2) JSTeliemiah's First Reformation with six 
important lists (vii.-xii. 26) ; (3) the Dedication of the Wall 
and Nehemiah's Second Reformation after his return from a 
visit to Persia (xii. 27-xiii.). 

ESTHER. 

29. What is this Book of Esther 9 

It is an Appendix to the previous history, containing an epi- 
sode alleged to have taken place during the Captivitj'". Its 
place in the history would be between the sixth and seventh 
chapters of Ezra. The Book takes its name from the heroine 
of the story. 

30. How is this Book commonly regarded f 

Variously. By some it is looked upon as a veritable history, 
by others as a historical fiction — a Romance of Providence. 
By some both the spirit it breathes and the atrocities ^it re- 
cites are not only justified but commended; while others see 
in the Book a spirit of revenge and persecution wliich removes 
it further than any other Book of the Old Testament from the 
spirit of the Gospel, and the sentiment of our time. 

31. Has Esther always commanded the universal suffrage of 
the Church as a canonical Book f 

No ; though in later ages it came to be regarded as one of 
the most sacred Books of their Canon, the earlier Jews long 
disputed its admission thereto ; some of the early Cliristian 
Fathers also denied it a place in the Sacred Volume ; and 
Luther, looking upon it with horror, heartily wished that it 
had perished. 

32. Who are the leading character's in the story ? 

The King, Esther the Queen and heroine, Haman the 
haughty and envious Prime Minister of Persia, tlie enemy of 
the Jews, and Mordecai, the dogged and obstinate Jew. The 
scene is laid in the palace of Shushan, one of the royal resi- 
dences of the kings of Persia. 

33. How is the high regard in lohich the Jews hold this Book 
looked upon by some f 

As a revelation of the extent to which the most baleful and 

18 



27-4 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

horrible passions may be cherished iu the name of Religion. 
While Esther's courage is conceded to be illustrious and her 
patriotism beautiful ; her vindictiveness, which could only be 
sated with such horrible human slaughter as the story unfolds 
(ix. 13), is looked upon as alike unfeminine, unqueenly, unchris- 
tian, and terrible. 

34. From this adverse view of the Book, what good purpose 
can it subserve in the Canon of Holy Scripture f 

It serves as a dark background on which the spirit of Jesus 
and the Christian morality may shine fortii resplendent ; as a 
striking example of the kind of ideas whicli Christians ought 
not to entertain, and of the kind of feelings they ought not to 
cherish. 

35. \VJiat is a palliation for the sacrifice called for by Esther f 

Tlie enormity of the crime contemplated by Haman— even 
the total extermination of the Jewish people, not onl^'- in 
Babylon, but, as Persian power was then universal, through- 
out the world ; and as being in keeping with the prevailing 
spirit of the time in wliich Esther lived. 

36. Wliat proof have we tliat this is a true story? 

The feast of Purim instituted at the time to commemorate 
the Deliverance (ix. 17-32) is still annually observed by the 
Jews. 

37. What is remarkable about Esther as a Bible Book? 

The name of God is not in it, though His hand, here as else- 
where, is clearly seen overruling even the wickedness of men, 
and the smallest events, for the accomplishment of His own 
purposes. 

38. Who wrote this Book f 

The author is unknown ; and the most probable theory as to 
its origin is, that it is a transcript from the records of the 
Persian Court obtained from tlie king, either by Esther or 
Mordecai. 

39. To what has this Book been com,pared f 

The rose window in the Temple structure of the Old Testa- 
ment. If the light it transmits be dim, it reveals exquisite 



HEBREW POETRY. 275 

tracery and symbolic design in the frame-work and colored 
panes. 

40. What tribute was once paid to this Book as a literary 
com^josition ? 

Benjamin Franklin once read it to a company of French 
infidels, and they w^ere charmed, and declared it to be the 
most beautiful and fascinating story they had ever heard ; and 
when told what it was they were astonished that they had 
never heard of it or read it before. 

41. What great lessons does this story teach ? 

Tliat there is behind human affairs an unseen hand ; that 
Retribution is administered with poetic exactness ; that the 
most minute events are woven into God's plan ; that inde- 
fensible things may be, and often are, done in the name of 
Religion ; that Providence is not Fate, but consists with prayer 
and resolve, freedom and responsibility ; that no weapon formed 
against God's people, can prosj)er. 



POETICAL BOOKS. 

HEBREW POETRY. 

1. Under what tivo general heads may Hebrew poetry be 
arranged ? 

Song and Poetic statement, or Prose Poetry. This division is 
comprehensive and simple. Between Song and Statement the 
whole Bible, which is itself a grand Poem, is included. 

2. What are the characteristics of Hebrew poetry f 

Its figurative language— each thought floating double— each 
birth of twins— simplicity, boldness, and its high moral tone 
and constant religious reference. 

3. What is the grand peculiarity of the Hebrew poetry ? 

Its Parallelism — tlie arrangement of thought in correspond- 
ing or parallel sentences and stanzas. The poetry does not de- 
pend on rhyme or rhythm, metre or melody, but lies rather in 
the relation of the thoughts than the words ; there being a 
rhyme and rhj^thm of ideas. * 



276 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

4. Of how many kinds is this parallelism f 

Five : Apposite (Prov. iii. 5) ; Opposite (Prov. x. 7) ; Synony- 
mous (Prov. i. 4) ; Synthetic (Prov. xxx. 17) ; Inverted, or In- 
troverted (Ps. cxxxv. 15-18). 

5. What are the various kinds of Hebrew poetry '^ 

According to the theme and divisions, Hebrew poetry is 
lyric — fitted for song and instrumental accompaniment — as in 
the Psalms ; epic — a heroic or narrative poem — as in Job ; di- 
dactic — preceptive, for purposes of instruction — as in the Prov- 
erbs ; pastoral, or idyllic — a short descriptive poem — as in 
Canticles ; and prophetical — a sublime or elevated style of 
writing — as in the earlier prophets. 

6. How many and what are the names of the Poetical Books f 

Five : Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles, or 
the Song of Songs which is Solomon's. 



JOB. 

1. To what species of poetry does Job belong? 

The Epic ; though by some it is called a lyrical drama, or a 
dramatic lyric. If not indeed a drama, Job, as a poem, is at 
least dramatic. It partakes something of tlie character of a 
tragedy also, though the catastrophe is widely different from 
the way in which tragedies end. 

2. Is Job fact or fiction f 

By some it is regarded as really historical ; by others as pure 
religious fiction — an apologue ; by others, still, a composition 
based upon facts. Whether, however, the Book be regarded 
as a poem, a parable, a story— whether fiction founded on fact, 
or fiction without any fact-foundation, does not much matter ; 
it is certainly true — true as the Parable of the Prodigal Son, 
true as Shakespeare's Hamlet, and that is true enough. 

3. Is there any Scripture to prove that Job was a real person? 

Yes ; the prophet Ezekiel (xiv. 14) and James in his Epistle 
(v. 11) bofch refer to him as an historical personage. There can 



JOB. 277 

be little doubt, therefore, that Job was a real person, and that 
the drama is at least founded on historical tradition. 

4. Who was the author of this production f 

Nobody knows, nor is any one likely to find out. It has 
been ascribed to nearly every man of prominence among the 
Hebrews from Moses to Ezra. Tiie tradition, however, which 
credits it to Moses is now almost entirely abandoned. 

5. What is the date of this poem f 

This is as much a puzzle to the critics as the question of its 
authorship, with which, of course, it is closely allied. It has 
long been looked upon as the oldest literary composition in the 
world, belonging to the period between the Flood and the time 
of Abraham ; while the tendency of modern criticism is to 
bring its date down later and later, to the time of Solomon, to 
the Exile ; and some even go so far as to assign it to the 5th 
century of the Christian era. 

6. How is this variety of view accounted for ? 

The Book itself giving no account either of its authorship or 
date, these things must be inferred from the character of its 
contents. Accordingly, the absence of any allusion to the Ex- 
odus or the Mosaic law is regarded as proof conclusive that it 
must have been written before that era ; wliile the absence of 
all reference to Job as a person or as a poem in the Historical 
Books, and more especially its doctrinal character, argue quite 
as conclusively against its pre-Mosaic origin and in favor of a 
date not earlier than the age of Solomon, however much later 
it might be. The drift of opinion is towards the later date. 

7. How can the silence of the poem respecting Moses and the 
law be accounted for on the theory of its later date ? 

On the ground that it is a historical drama, the scene of 
which is laid in the period before Moses, and whose characters 
are made to speak and act in accordance with the time in 
which they are supposed to have lived. 

8. What is the locality of the dram^a ? 

"The Land of Uz" — "Arabia Deserta," southeast of Pales- 
tine. It is admitted that the scenery and costume of the piece 



278 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

are not Jewish, and they agree perfectly with what geogra- 
phers tell us of that country. 

9. Who are the dramatis personce of the poem? 

Its leading characters are Satan, Job, his three friends (?) — 
Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the 
Naamathite,— Elihu the Buzite, and Jehovah Himself. 

10. What is the scope of this poem f 

It is the attempt of a Hebrew thinker of enlarged mind, not 
on narrow national ground, but on the broad ground of a 
Univ^ersal Humanity, to vindicate the Divine government of 
the World. 

11. How may the contents of Job be arranged? 

Under five heads : (1) the Historical Prologue in prose (i., ii.) ; 
(2; the Dialogues between Job and his three friends (?) (iii.- 
xxxi.) ; (3) tlie speech of Eliliu (xxxii.-xxxvii.) ; (4) Jehovah's 
address to Job with tlie latter's responses (xxxviii.-xlii. 6) ; 
(5) the Historical Epilogue in prose — simple and strange as a 
nursery tale— reciting the surprising and happy outcome of 
the whole (xlii. 7-17). 

12. What do the parties to these dialogues respectively repre- 
sent ? 

The three aged friends of Job represent the Church, the 
rigidly ortliodox sentiment of their time, impatient of what 
seemed novel, and to tliem, therefore, revolutionary ; Elihu, 
on the other hand, represents a younger generation, more open 
to new ideas, less resolutely set against fresh shapes of truth, 
and more fit to be the means of transition from one stage of 
religious knowledge and spiritual light to another ; while Je- 
hovah, as tlie moral governor of the Universe, by His un- 
satisfactory reticence touching the main question, admin- 
isters a rebuke to those who refuse to believe further than they 
are able to see — who walk by sight and not by faith. 

13. What is the current view respecting the speech of Elihu f 

That it is not a part of the original poem, but was added 
later on, possibly by the author himself, to lessen the shock 



JOB. 279 

produced on pious readers by the sudden reversal, by the 
judgment of Jehovah, of the findings of the prevalent or- 
thodox opinion as represented by Job's three friends. 

14. What was the great question discussed by Job and his 
friends f 

The Method of Divine Government, the Pliilosophy of Suf- 
fering—the Uses of Adversity. Is life worth living? 

15. Do these questions find satisfactory solution in the poem f 

They do not. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in their harsh, 
unfeeling way discuss then in the light of history, philosophy, 
and natural law — from moral and scientific points of view — 
but only darkened counsel by words without knowledge ; even 
Elihu with his deeper insight and more humane sentiment 
only presents half-truths ; and Jehovah Himself speaks 
but not to sa3^. Let there be light, where all was darkness ; 
leaving the questions without full, entire, or adequate solution. 
It seems a disappointment. The thoughts that we should have 
most looked for are not there. 

16. Wherein^ then^ lies the value of the Book ? 

Not in the sentiments uttered by either one or all of the 
speakers, which are either errant or inadequate ; but in the 
spectacle of a human soul undergoing a grand trial and in the 
direst of afiiiction working through its doubts, and at last hum- 
bly confessing its weakness in the presence of its Author, and 
expressing its abiding confidence in Him Whom Job now sees 
to be, not his persecutor or his enemy, but his real Friend, and 
in Whose power, wisdom, and love he rests content. The 
value of the Book, therefore, lies not in its statements singly or 
all together, but in the picture as a whole. It is the situation 
that speaks rather than the characters in the piece. 

17. What was the radical error of Job^s three friends f 

The assumption that his great suffering was an infallible 
proof of his great sin. To all such as were or are trained 
to identify suffering with transgression, the lessons of this 
Book must be precious beyond words. 



2^0 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

18. How did Job stand his trial f 

In the early part of his sore experience with a patience and 
resignation that are proverbial (i.21, 22) ; but later on, with 
added griefs, his patient resolve, firm as the "sinew" of the 
Leviathan, was at last subdued ; and there broke forth from 
him that tremendous curse which has made the third chapter 
dear to all" the miserable. This and other fitful outbursts ex- 
posed Job to the charge of Impiety as well as Impatience. 

19. Wiat does a recent author discover in xl. and xH. ? 

That the entire modern steam plant, railway organization, 
boiler and engine practice are treated in these places ; that the 
descriptions of Leviathan and Behemoth are nothing more 
than pictures of the Locomotive ; while some other parts accu- 
rately represent Wall Street and the battle of the speculators- 
the bulls and bears. 

20. How can Job be shown to be a key to the Bible and the 
history of man f 

In it we have (1) Man unfallen and untried ; (2) Sinnino- 
and suffering; (3) Seeking human help in legal itv, moral it.>^ 
philosophy ; (4) Needing and receiving a revelation from God • 
(5) Humbled, penitent, believing ; (6) Restored to a better state 
than at first. 

21. Uou^ does Job as a poem compare with the kindred liter- 
ary productions f 

It is unsurpassed as a literary work. There is nothing among 
the classics -not ^scliylus or Homer-to equal it. For beauty, 
sublimity, graphic description, grandeur of conception, and 
richness of imagery it is unrivalled by any writing in tlie 
world. 

22. What passages in the Book are worthy of special mention f 
The force and elegance of xxvii. are incomparable ; the de- 
scription of Wisdom in xxviii. is grand ; while those of the 
Arabian War-Horse (xxxix. 19-25), the Behemoth (xl. 15-24) 
and the Leviathan (xli.), as pictures of life are truly wonderful' 
Nothing in the world can exceed the dignity, force, and maj- 
esty of these passages, or the freshness of these pictures of 
nature and life. 



THE PSALTER. 281 

23. What department in the Temple of Holy Scripture is the 
Book of Job f 

The gymnasium — the exercising ground for spiritual ath- 
letes. 

24. What are some of the grand practical lessons of the Book f 

The insufficiency of natural religion as a support in sorrow ; 
that there is such a thing in this world as Disinterested Recti- 
tude — of which principle Job is the incarnation and embodi- 
ment, and a type of Christ ; that the sufferings of the right- 
eous are no sign of God's displeasure ; that sorrow does its 
best work when it purifies and raises the human soul ; that the 
plans of God are not, will not be, cannot be, revealed, and that, 
therefore, the resignation of faith, not of fatalism, is the only 
wisdom of man. 

THE PSALTER. 

1. What department in the Temple of Holy Scripture is the 
Book of Psalms f 

The Music Gallery, the Orchestra of the sacred structure, 
where dwell all the sons and daughters of Song, with cymbal, 
trumpet, psaltery, and harp. 

2. To what species of Hebrew poetry do the Psalms belong ? 

The lyric— being adapted to music, and suited to be chanted 
or sung with or without instrumental accompaniment. They 
possess on this account an exquisite adaptation to the praising 
purposes alike of private Christians, of famihes, and of public 
assemblies in every age. 

3. By what religious bodies are the Psalms still used as the 
sole Book of Praise ? 

By the Jewish people, and by a very respectable section of 
the Presbyterian Church in both hemispheres. 

4. How are the Psalm.s regarded from a literary point of 
view ? 

All classes of writers have delighted to sound the praise of 
these sacred compositions. In lyric flow and fire, in crushing 
force and majesty, the poetry of these ** Songs of Zion," it is 



282 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

conceded, is the most superb that ever burnt within the breast 
of man. 

5. What is the chief attraction of these sacred odes to the 
Christian f 

That they embody the holiest feelings, have supplied utter- 
ances to the emotions of the best men of all ages, and were 
sung b3" Him Who, though "He spoke as never man spake," 
chose to breathe out His soul, both in praise and in His last 
agony, in the words of a Psalm. 

6. What is the difference between the Psalter and other parts 
of Scripture f 

The Psalter is the Book of Devotion for the ages. Other 
parts of Scripture represent God as speaking to man. Here, 
man is represented as speaking to God. The Psalms are that 
"sacrifice of praise," which, in its priestly character, the 
Church offers to God continually (Heb. xiii. 15). 

7. When and by whom were these Psalms com,posed f 

By various authors at different eras, from Moses till the 
Restoration. They are called "The Psalms of David," not 
because he is the author of the whole, but probably the largest 
contributor to and the editor or compiler of the original collec- 
tion. The Psalter, as w^e have it, is a Book of long growth, 
composed of five different volumes, which might be called the 
Psalter Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, very much as the present volume 
of "Gospel Hymns" has grown and is so named. These five 
Books marked by their peculiar endings are : No. 1— i.-xli. ; 
No. 2— xlii.-lxxii. ; No. 3— Ixxiii.-lxxxix. ; No. 4— xc.-cvi. ; No. 
5 — cviii.-cl. 

8. Are the inscriptions of the Psalms inspired? 

No ; but, being regarded as historically accurate, they should 
be studied, as they show^ which are Songs of Love, Pilgrimage, 
or Memorial, and whether meant for praise, prayer, or in- 
struction. 

9. What is meant by " Selah" in the Psalms f 

It is a musical term, intended, doubtless, like ''Da Capo'^ 
or '' Forte^^^ those Italian words found in the staff of sheet 



THE PSALTER. 283 

music, as directions for the proper rendering of the piece. 
" Selah" occurring after tlie utterance of some more than ordi- 
nary weighty sentiment indicates a pause for emphasis, very 
much like a rlietorical pause in reading. 

10. What, besides the excellence of their poetry^ gives the 
Psalms so firm a hold on the heart of humanity f 

The transcendent excellence of their matter. God is in them 
in His natural and moral attributes. Christ is in them in 
His Divinity and Humanity, humiliation, and exaltation. 
The Gospel is in them with its sublime unfolding of pardoning 
and purifying Grace ; and Christian life is in them, faith, hope, 
love ; and in them even church history is outlined. 

11. Are the Psalms as a whole subject to any accurate classifi- 
cation f 

No ; for the contents are often very variousi Generally, 
however, they are Didactic, Psalms of Praise and Adoration, 
of Thanksgiving, of Devotion, and Psalms Historical and 
Prophetical. 

12. Which are the Penitential Psalms .^ 

The 6th, 25th, 32d, 38th, 51st, 102d, 130th, and the 143d— of 
which the 51st is the chief. 

13. Which are the prophetical Psalms f 

The 2d, 16th, 22d, 40th, 45th, 68th, 69th, 72d, 97th, 110th, and 
the 118th. Of these the 2d, 16tb, 22d, 45th, 72d, 110th, and the 
118th are almost certainly Messianic ; that is, they point directly 
to, and have their fulfilment in, the Christ. 

14. What are the Hallelujah Psalms so-called ? 

Those which the Jews sang at the end of the Passover and 
compose what they call the Great Hallel. These are from 
the 113th to the 118th inclusive. 

15. Which are the historical Psalms f 

The 78th, 105th, and 106th. These are each national in 
character. 



284 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

16. Which are the shortest and longest Psalms f 
The 117th is the shortest and the 119th the longest. 

17. What are the Psalms of ** Ascents or Degrees'^ f 

Those "Songs of David" which the Jews sang when going 
up to Temple Feasts. Tliese are from the 120th to the 124th 
inclusive. 

18. What is the character of the concluding Psalms f 

Tliese are truly Hallelujah Psalms. They are instinct with 
praise and full of joy. These bright gushes of song are a fitting 
close to this magnificent collection of sacred odes, and are the 
Beulah of the Book. 

19. What is the best way of I'ecalling the contents of each 
Psalm f 

By ascertaining the principal subjects and prevailing pur- 
port of each, and condensing the same into a brief "running 
title." This will be a most profitable employment, and a 
material aid both to the understanding and memory. The 
same holds good respecting other portions of Scripture as well. 

20. What are some illustrations of this running title method ? 

I. The Tree and the Cliaff Psalm ; II. The Raging Nations 
and the Reigning Sovereign ; III. The Foe and the Fortress 
Song ; VIII. The Astronomer's Song ; XV. The Question and 
Answer Psalm ; XIX. The Two Book Ode, or the World and 
tlie Word Psalm ; XXIII. The Song of the Flock ; XXXVIII. 
The Fret-Not Psalm, or the Song of Assurance ; XLV. The 
Canticle-Psalm, or the Song of Salvation ; XLVI. The Refuge 
and Strength Psalm— A Song of Faith. 



PROVERBS. 285 



PROVERBS. 

1. What department in the Temple of Holy Scripture is this 
Book of Proverbs 9 

The Chamber of Commerce, in which may be found that 
ancient "Wealth of Nations" where every human mind may 
enrich itself with the wisdom of the ages. 

2. Who wrote this Wisdom Literature 9 

The Book is of composite autliorship ; but it is ascribed to 
Solomon, the " Grand Monarque" of Israel, who was famous 
for his wisdom, for the same reason that the Psalter is ascribed 
to David his father, who was celebrated for his psalmody — that 
is, he was the largest contributor to the collection of proverbs 
herein contained. 

3. What is a proverb f 

Common sense in a nutshell— a sententious maxim con- 
densed in a sentence, and sealed and starred with an image. 
The peculiar beauty of the Hebrew proverb is that "like for- 
ceps" it holds truth firmly between the opposing points of 
antithesis. 

4. What is the character of the proverbs in this collection ? 

They treat of wisdom— practical wisdom ; that wisdom which 
develops manhood, leads to morality, and in its highest reach 
to piety ; which demands obedience to both Tables of the Law ; 
whicli makes the understanding clear, the heart clean, the 
conscience pure, and the will firm. 

5. What is the sco'pe of these proverbs ? 

They cover the whole range of Divine Arts — Ethics, Poli- 
tics, Economics — that is, the Government of Behavior, Com- 
monwealth, and Family. This Book is for practical Ethics 
what the Psalter is for Devotion. If it is not a Rule of Faith, 
it is certainly a Rule of Conduct. Not only is the last chapter 
a "looking-glass for ladies," but the whole Book is a mirror 
for both sexes and for all classes. 



286 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



6. What are some of the Hogarth-like moral sketches of the 
Book f , 

That of the Simple Youth (vii.) ; the Strange Woman (ix.) ; 
the Drunkard and Glutton (xxiii.) ; and of the Virtuous 
Woman (xxxi.). 

7. What are the chief subjects treated in Proverbs f 

They are such as Filial Piety, Evil Company, Sensuality and 
Drunlienness, Lying and Laziness, Strife and Greed. 

8. How can the force and significancy of these ijroverbs be 
most clearly seen and felt f 

By studying them in the light of Scripture examples, of 
which the number and variety scattered tliroughout the Word 
are very great. The proverbs are comprehensive laws, under- 
stood best when examined in particular cases. 

9. What are the chief among the connected portiom of this 
Book? 

The eulogy of wisdom (i.-viii.) ; the words of Agur (xxx. 
1-9) ; the full-length portrait of the virtuous woman (xxxi.). 
This last chapter is in the form of an acrostic. It is Mat- 
thew Henry's "looking-glass for ladies." It ought to be re- 
marked that the word "virtue" here is not used in the com- 
mon, but in the Roman sense, and means the vigorous, capa- 
ble, efficient woman— the real helpmeet. 

10. What is peculiar in Agur^s words in xxx. ? 

His three wonderful things (18-20) ; his three unendurable 
tilings (21-23) ; his four things that are little but wise (24-28) ; 
and his four things that are comely in going (29-31). 

11. W7iat are the grand divisions of the Proverbs ? 

Four : (1) Admonitions, especially for the Young (i.-ix.) ; 
(2) Miscellaneous, containing 374 proverbs, consisting of two 
antithetical phrases, for all classes (x,-xxiv.) ; (3) collections by 
the Scribes of Hezekiah (xxv.-xxix.) ; and (4) Supplement- 
words of Agur and Lemuel (xxx., xxxi.}. 



ECCLESIASTES. 28T 

12. What are the practical lessons of. this Book f 

The importance of deep-seated principles in the heart ; the 
responsibility of conduct in every step of life ; the danger of 
trifling deviations for expediency's sake ; the value of self- 
discipline ; the habit of bringing everything to the Word of 
God ; the duty of weighing in just balances a worldly and a 
heavenly portion, and thus deciding the momentous choice of 
an everlasting good before the toys of earth. 

13. What is the chief commendation of Wisdom f 

" Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are 
peace" (iii. 17). 

ECCLESIASTES. 

1. What department of the Temple is Ecclesiastes f 

The Penitentiary of the structure where sorrowful bank- 
rupts and other defaulters may remain for a time with profit 
in company with King Solomon. 

2. Whence is the name of this Book 9 

Ecclesiastes is the name given to it by the Greek translators 
in the Septuagint, and this title has been adopted in our 
Bible ; the Greek word being simply copied in Enghsh letters. 
The title, however, is not very suggestive of the contents of 
the Book, and, in fact, is misleading rather than otherwise as 
to their nature. 

3. What is the critical problem affecting this Book f 

The question as to its authorship. Tlie declaration of the 
opening sentence has long been deemed conclusive evidence 
that its author was none other than King Solomon himself. 
Upon a critical examination of the contents of the Book, how- 
ever, modern scholarship has pretty generally abandoned that 
view, and regards the Book as a pseudonymous production of a 
much later age than that of Solomon ; that is, the real author 
personates Solomon, and speaks his message, as it were, through 
Solomon's lips. It is believed to be the product of a post-Exile 
period. 



28S THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

4. What is the nature of this Book f 

It is the spiritual autobiograptiy of a converted philosopher 
—the confessions of a royal renegade such as we know Solomon 
to have been, and who herein gives us the results of his ex- 
perience and observation as to the life of man. It is a drama 
of a truly tragic character— a dialogue in which there is an in- 
terchange of voices, "higher and lower, mournful and joyful 
within a single human soul. ' 

5. What is the problem of the Book 9 

The words seem to be the soliloquy of a soul strugglino- with 
the problem of evil, trying to solve the mystery of life, some- 
times borne down with a dismal scepticism, sometimes 'assert- 
mg his faith in enduring righteousness. The writer's problem 
IS, in fact, none other than that so frequently the subject for 
discussion in our own day—" Is hfe worth living?" 

6. To what conclusion touching this great question does the 
author come f 

His conclusion is the result of a long struggle. He greatly 
doubts, yet he strongly hopes. Much of the time it app^'ears to 
him that the best thing he can do is to have "a good time" 
and let the world wag. The outcome of the whole and his 
final conclusion is, that there is a life beyond this life and a 
tribunal at which all wrongs will be righted, and that to fear 
GrOD and keep His commandments is the whole duty of man. 

7. What great truth is involved in this conclusion f 

That this world is a hemisphere, whose complement is an- 
other ; and that man is a half-hinge without God. Only 
when this world and the world to come are joined, do we get 
the Whole of Life ; and only when God and man are joined 
by faith and obedience do we get the whole of man. 

8. What experiments and observations did the royal philoso- 
pher make before he rounded to his conclusion 9 

His experiments were pursuit of wisdom, pleasure, frivolity 
worldly enterprise, treasure, and the fine arts ; but he only 
reaches the climax of disgust at ii. 26. His observations were : 



ECCLESIASTES. 289 

man is limited by a law of Destiny ; and vanity and vexation 
are the two words that express his final verdict. The solution 
of this Problem of Life begins at viii. 26. 

9. Did Solomon himself really repent ? 

The discussions of this question fill volumes; and yet the 
answer thereto can at best be only conjectural. The only 
ground for hope as to his eternal destiny is what is recorded 
by himself apparently in his old age in this Book of Ecclesi- 
astes. In a series of frescoes on the walls of the Campo Santo 
at Pisa, in Italy, Solomon is represented at the Judgment as 
looking anxiously to both right and left as one who knows not 
on which side his lot will be cast. The artist represents the 
world's perplexity as to Solomon's fate. 

10. How do infidels regard this Book f 

They seize with avidity upon, and praise with great delight 
and without stint, those parts in which Solomon, as a disap- 
pointed worldling, records the false principles which his folly 
had for the moment led him to maintain. The true wisdom 
of the Book (xi., xii.) they entirely disregard. 

11. What is to be thought of the description of old age as 
given in xii.? 

That however rythmical and beautiful in expression, it is, 
nevertheless, the description of an old age of nature's retribu- 
tions, not the sunset glory of a saintly life. 

12. How did Lord Chesterfield regard this Book f 

The accomplished, feted, and flattered worldling ratified the 
judgment of the ancient profligate as to the unsatisfactory 
character of all mere wordly things. ** Vanity — all is vanity," 
was his verdict, as well as Solomon's. 

13. JF^or what class is this Book peculiarly S7nted ? 

The rich. It opens with a testimony of the vanity of all 
things earthly, and closes with a reminder of the Judgment — 
the two things rich people are quite likely to lose sight of and 



forget. 



19 



290 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

14. What are some of the horniletical themes presented by 
this Book ? 

1. Genuine Happiness; (1) in what it consists; (2) tlie va- 
rious ways in wliich men seeli to obtain it ; (3) the only true 
way in which it can be secured. 2. Tlie Chief Good : (1) 
what it is ; (2) the mistakes men make with regard to it ; (3) 
the only way to attain it. 3. Religion, Man's Chief End : (1) 
what religion really is ; (2) what men substitute for it ; (3) the 
folly and wickedness of such substitution. 

15. What are the divisions of Ecelesiastes ? 

These are five : (1) Tlie preface in which the argument of the 
Book is anticipated and outlined (i. 1-11) ; (2) The Results of 
Experiment (i. 12; ii.) ; (3) The Results of Observation (iii. ; 
viii. 15) ; (4) Induction (viii. 16 ; xii. 7) ; (5) Grand Conclu- 
sion (xii. 8-14). 

16. What Is the key-word of Ecelesiastes? 

Vanity — which occurs twenty-five times in the course of the 
composition. 

CANTICLES. 

1. WJio icrote this piece? 

"It is commonly called "the Song of Songs which is Sol- 
omon's," but wliether it is tlie composition of that prince, 
scholars are not agreed. . If, however, he is not the author of 
it, it is quite certain that he is the subject of the Song. 

2. What is the nature of this piece ? 

It is a Dramatic Love-Song consisting of a dialogue between 
the Lover and the Loved One — the exquisite celebration of a 
pure love in humble life ; of a love which no splendor can daz- 
zle and no flattery seduce. 

3. What is the gist of the j^oem ? 

Stripped of all its gorgeous imagery and Oriental poetic col- 
oring, it is the story of a beautiful peasant girl, a native of the 
northern village of Shunem, who was carried away by Sol- 
omon's officers and confined in his harem at Jerusalem. In 



CANTICLES. 291 

the midst of all the splendor, however, with which she is there 
surrounded, her heart is true to the peasant lover whom she 
has left behind, nor can any blandishments of the king disturb 
her constancy ; her honor remains unstained, and she is car- 
ried home at length, heart-whole and happy, by the swain who 
has come to Jerusalem for her rescue. Such is the beautiful 
story in brief. 

4. What qualities in the spouse are thus brought out f 

Purity, fidelity, love. Her constancy carries her through all 
the allurements of the world pure and true to her humble 
mountain Lover. Pleasure does not move her, wealth does 
not swerve her, earthly exaltation and fame do not tear her 
away from her Beloved, but turning from them all she cries 
out, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is Mine." 

5. Is there anything like the fidelity of this Shunamite to he 
found in any other literature ? 

No. The Iliad turns upon the wrath of Achilles. Its mo- 
tive is the infidelity of Helen. The Odyssey turns upon the 
fidelity of a queen, Penelope. But there was no such king 
among her suitors as her absent lord, either in dignity or 
power. She resorted to a petty device to delay them ; but the 
Shunamite stood solely upon her own immaculate and unswerv- 
ing faith — and by faith she w^as saved. 

6. Hoiu has this song been interpreted 9 

Variously. No Book in the Bible more so. Yet all the vari- 
ous explanations may be referred to one or other of three 
schools : the literal, the mystical, and allegorical. 

7. Which of these is gene?'ally accepted as the correct explana- 
tion 9 

The last — the allegorical. According to this, Christian inter- 
preters have made it the representation of the love of Christ 
for His Church, and for each believing soul of which it is com- 
posed. They regard it as an Epithalamium or Marriage Song, 
a dialogue between the Bridegroom and the Bride. Like the 
forty-fifth Psalm, which is a key to it, the Canticles is thus 
*' A Song of Loves" — of pure, chaste, holy, spiritual loves. 



292 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

8. W7iat similarity is there between the Canticles and the Book 
of Esther ? 

In neither is the name of God mentioned, nor is there in 
either any expression of natural rehgion or pious devotion. 

9. To ivhat did the Christian Fathers compare Solomon's 
teaching ? 

To a ladder with three steps : Ecclesiastes Nature, the nature 
of sensible things— Vanity ; Proverbs Moral ; and Canticles 
Mystical, figuring the union between Christ and His Church. 

10. To what did the Jews compare the three Books of Solo- 
m,07i ? 

To the Temple : Proverbs to the Outer Court ; Ecclesiastes 
to the Holy Place, and Canticles to the Holy of Holies. 

11. Is there anything suggestive in the Song succeeding Ec- 
clesiastes in the Canon 9 

Yes ; in Ecclesiastes man finds his soul too great for this 
world to feed and fill ; all is vanity and no i)rofit under the sun. 
In Canticles man, looking above the sun, finds in God what not 
only fills his soul, but cannot be contained. The sea fills the 
cup, but the cup does not hold the sea ; and so from Vanity 
we come to Verity. 



THE PROPHETS. 
THE PROPHETIC ORDER. 

1. Into what department of the Temple of Holy Scripture are 
we now entering 9 

As Ruth and Canticles maybe regarded as the Conserv.atory, 
this last division of the Old Testament may be very properly 
called the Observatory, whence through the telescope of proph- 
ecy the eye of faith may peer into the future and catch a 
glimpse of the glory of the coming day. 

2. What is a prophet f 

One who speaks for, or is the authorized representative and 
mouth-piece of, another. 



THE PROPHETS. 293 

8. What were the ITebrew prophets ? 

They were the representatives of Jehovah, the authorized 
and inspired expounders or interpreters of the Divine will 
(Ex. iv. 16 ; vii. 1). 

4. What were the functions of the Hebrew prophets f 

As tlie representatives of Jehovah they exercised their 
office in many ways : Moses as a lawgiver ; Samuel as an ad- 
ministrator of the affairs of the commonwealth — a sort of 
Chief-Justice of the nation ; Nathan as a counsellor at court; 
but as a class the prophets were first of all, and most of all, 
Preachers of Righteousness, Champions of Jehovah as against 
polytheism and all ungodliness of men, kings and people 
alike. Their business was not so much with the future as the 
Living Present ; and their predictions respecting the future 
were born of the conditions with which they were surrounded. 
Many of the prophets made no predictions at all. 

5. Whence did the prophets come f 

They might arise in any quarter. They might come from 
any class. They were confined to no tribe, to no locality, to 
no calling. Nor was the Order restricted to the male sex 
alone : Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah were shining names in 
this goodly fellowship. 

6. Whence did they derive their authority f 

Not from any Ecclesiastical or other human source. No 
man's hands were laid upon them in ordination. They were 
Jehovah's ambassadors ; from Him they received their mes- 
sages ; by Him they were inspired ; and to Him alone they 
held themselves responsible. 

7. WJiat is the history of the prophetic order ? 

Its foundations were laid in Samuel, it flourished during the 
Monarchy, continued during the Captivity, and remained a 
power till the work of Restoration was complete. 

8. Was the prophetic order a numerous body ? 

Yes ; in Israel Jehovah's prophets could be counted by the 
fifty (1 Kings xviii. 4), and the king's by the four hundred 
(2 Chron. xviii. 5). Most of these last, if not all, were false 



294 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



prophets, sycophants, dependents of the crown— organs of the 
administration— mere pretenders to the prophetic gift, who 
frequently received well-merited and severe castigations at the 
hands of such holy men of God as Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jer 
xxiii. 13-40 ; xxx\'lii. ; Ezek. xiii.). 

9. What was the attitude of the true prophets of Jehovah 
towards existing institutions f 

Their position was that of absolute personal independence 
both in politics and religion. The most fearless and free- 
spoken man of the world was the Hebrew prophet. He often 
opposed the government, but in favor of the state ; he inveighed 
against the Church, but on behalf of religion ; he denounced 
the people, but always for their own highest good. The 
prophets were the grandest men in Old Testament times— the 
progressive forces of their respective eras. 

10. Are the prophets deadf 

By no means ; by their writings they live amongst us and 
inspire us— at least they ought to. We feel their faith and 
heroism and loyalty-at least we ought to. Thev shame our 
timid treasons ; that is, they ought to. They teach^us how to be 
true witnesses ; that is, they set us the example. They put 
into our hands forged thunderbolts to hurl against the strong- 
holds of Sin and Satan. They give us fitting words with 
which to administer needed rebuke. Their characters stand 
before us to-day as the embodiment of everything that is grand 
and praiseworthy. The prophet-power will be a power while 
the world stands. 

11. What ivas a distinguishing mark of the Jewish people f 
That their golden age was not in the past, but in the future ; 
that their greatest hero (as they deemed Him to be) was not 
their Founder, but their Founder's latest Descendant. Their 
traditions, their fancies, their glories, gathered round the head 
not of a chief or warrior or sage that had been, but of a King, 
a Deliverer, a Prophet Who was to come, but Whom they 
failed to recognize when He at length appeared (John i. 10, 11). 
The coming of this Great One is the inspiring thought of the 
entire Old Testament; for "the testimony of Jesus is the 
spirit of prophecy." 



THE PROPHETS. 295 

12. How may the ways in which Jehovah has been pleased 
to make known His will in the different dispensations be char- 
acterized f 

lu the patriarchal dispensation it was theophanic — by direct 
appearances or theophanies ; in the Mosaic, theopneustic — that 
is, through the medium of inspired men ; and in the Christian 
dispensation, theologic — that is, God reveals Himself now 
permanently through inspired writings, as interpreted by liv- 
ing men. 

THE CANONICAL PROPHETS. 

13. How may the Hebrew prophets be divided 9 

Into two classes— the acting and the writing prophets. 

14. How many of the writing prophets are represented in the 

Old Testament Canon ? 

Sixteen : Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel ; Hosea, Joel, 
Amos; Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum ; Habakkuk, Zeph- 
aniah ; Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 

15. When did these prophets flourish f 

Beginning with the reign of Jeroboam II. of Israel, from 
Jonah to Malachi, during a period of about 400 years. 

16. How were these prophets divided between Israel and 
Judah f 

Israel appears to have had the larger number of prophets, 
though only three — Hosea, Jonah, and Amos — are represented 
in the Canon ; and Amos was a prophet of Judah, though he 
prophesied to Israel. All the others were prophets of Judah, 
though directing their discourses to both peoples. 

17. Into how m,any groups m,ay the canonical prophets be 
divided f 

Four : (1) the pre-Exile prophets ; (2) the prophets of the 
Captivity ; (3) the prophets of the Restoration ; and (4) the 
prophets to tlie Gentiles wholly or mainl3\ 

18. Who were the pre-Exile prophets ? 

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah. 



296 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

19. W7io were the prophets of the Captivity? 

Ezekiel and Daniel; though Jeremiah lived during the 
early part of the Exile, and is sometinies classed as also a 
prophet of tlie Cai^tivity. 

20. Who were the prophets of the Restoration f 
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 

21. Who were thepi^ophets of the Gentiles? 
Jonah, Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. 

22. A7'e the Books of the prophets placed in the Canon in the 
order in which they were written ? 

No ; the order is not chronological ; in part at least it seems 
to represent what was supposed to be the relative importance 
of the Books ; though this is only conjecture. 

23. How are the Books of the prophets in our Canon divided? 
Into two classes : Major and Minor— the greater and the 

lesser prophets. The basis of this division is the length of the 
Books, not any intrinsic quality; though the major prophets 
are generally recognized as being on a loftier plane than the 
others. 

24. What are the major and what minor prophets f 

The Books of the major prophets are Five : Isaiah, Jeremiah 
Ezekiel, and Daniel ; while those of the minor prophets are 
Twelve : Hosea, Joel, Amos ; Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum • 
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 

25. How should the prophetic Books be read? 

In connection with the historical Books which contain the 
history of the times in which the writers respectively lived 
and prophesied. They will mutually interpret and illustrate 
each other. In fact, the one cannot be understood at all with- 
out reference to the other. 



ISAIAH. 297 

THE MAJOR PROPHETS. 

ISAIAH. 

1. Who was Isaiah f 

The son of Ainos, the great EvangeUcal Prophet of the Old 
Testament, who flourished during the seventh century before 
Christ, and discharged the duties of his office for a period of 
about seventy years, during the successive regions of Uzziah, 
Jothana, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and perhaps Manasseh, Kings of 
Judah. He hved to be one hundred years old, and, it is said, 
was barbarously murdered, being sawn asunder by the order 
of that man of blood — Manasseh. 

2. What is Isaiah's place among the prophets f 

He was the greatest, and, both in life and death, the most 
influential of them all. He was a prince amid a generation 
of princes — a Titan among a tribe of Titans ; and of all the 
prophets who rose on aspiring pinions to meet the Sun of Right- 
eousness, it was his — the Evangelical Eagle — to mount highest, 
and to catch on his wing the richest anticipation of His rising. 
By common consent Isaiah wears the crown as the always 
royal prophet of Israel. 

3. What is the prevailing spirit of the Book f 

It opens with sublime complaint ; it frequently irritates into 
noble anger, subdues into irony, and melts into pathos ; but its 
general tone is that of victorious exultation. It is one long 
rapture. Rarely does he mitigate his voice, or check his exu- 
berant joy, save in describing the Sufferings of Christ (liii.). 
Here he shades his eyes, holds in his eloquent breath, and furls 
his wing of fire. So soon, however, as he has passed the Hill 
of Sorrow, his old rapturous emotions come upon him with 
twofold force, and no psean in his prophecy is more joyous than 
the 54th chapter. It rings like a marriage bell. The whole, 
indeed, may be called the Song of Songs — the Song of Christ 
— which is Isaiah's, even as the Canticles is the Song of Songs 
which is Solomon's. 

4. What is the character of Isaiahs style as a writer f 

His prophecy is distinguished by uniform grandeur, pomp 
of diction, and almost painful richness of figure. The Cross, 



298 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

however, stands in the painted window of his style. His 
stateHest figures bow before Messiah's throne. An Eagle of the 
sun, his nest is in Calvary. This is the charm of the Book. 

5. What are the principal divisions of this Book 9 

These are two : (1) the Histori co-prophetical (i.-xxxix.) ; and 
(2) the Prophetical proper (xl.-lxvi.). 

6. ]Vhat are the contents of the first part ? 

It contains prophetic addresses and writings of different 
dates, bearing on the morals, piety, and welfare of both Judah 
and Israel : predictions respecting the neighboring hostile na- 
tions, in which are described the sins and destruction of As- 
syria, Babylon, Moab, Egypt, Philistia, Syria, Edom, Tyre 
and Samaria (i.-xxxv.) ; while the last three chapters (xxxvi - 
xxxix.) are taken up with the history of Sennacherib's invasion, 
Hezekiah's sickness and miraculous recovery. 

7. What are the contents of the second part ? 

The twenty-seven chapters which compose this part are 
made up mainly of predictions relating chiefly to more distant 
events, and embrace the whole period from tlie Captivity to 
the end of the Christian dispensation. The fullest portrayal 
of Messiah's Person and Mission, humiliation and exaltation 
to be found anywhere in the Old Testament is given here, and 
is central in it. The whole part is, in fact, a great prophetic 
poem, and may well be entitled the Song of Messiah. 

8. What is the design of this second part of Isaiah f 

The comfort of the captive and distressed people of God 
(xl. 1, 5). It abounds in glowing descriptions of coming glory, 
and is especially full in predictions relating to the coming,' 
character, appointment, sufferings, death and glory of the 

Messiah. 

9. What special prophecies recorded in the first part had 
either earhj or immediate fulfilment f 

The conquest of Israel and Assyria before the infant son of 
the prophet could say " my father" (viii. 4) ; the destruction of 
Kedar in one year (xxi. 16) ; that of Moab in three years (xvi. 



ISAIAH. 299 

14) ; that of Ephraim in 65 years (vii. 8) ; that of Tyre in 70 
years (xxiii. 15) ; and the prolongation of Hezekiah's hfe 

(xxxviii. 5-9). 

10. Are there any Messianic predictions in the first or histor- 
ico-prophetical part f 

Yes ; it contains prophetic hints of Messiah's Glory ; His 
Birth of a Virgin ; and His manifold character (vii. 14 ; ix. 
6, 7 ; xi. 1-10 ; xxviii. 16 ; xxxii. 2). 

11. What great doctrines are taught in the second part f 

Eeconciliation, Incarnation, Complete Eevelation, and Uni- 
versal Evangelization. 

12. What is the most remarkable chapter of Isaiah f 

The Fifty-third. It is the very heart and core of Old Testa- 
ment prophetic writings, and its 5th verse enshrines the cen- 
tral truth of the Gospel— Substitution. The Passion of our 
Lord is so clearly foretold in this chapter, and so graphically 
described, that Infidelity is dumb in its presence. The cor- 
respondence between the history and the prophecy is so exact 
that it has been the means of the conversion of many, notably 
Naryan Sheshadri, the Hindoo Brahmin. 

13. Besides the 53c? chapter, what other Messianic predictions 

are there in this second part f 

xlii. 1, 6, 7 ; 1. 6 ; Uv. 4 ; Ix. 1, 2. 

14. A?^e there any miracles recorded in this prophecy 9 

Yes ; two. The bringing back the shadow on the sun-dial 
of Ahaz, and the prolongation of Hezekiah's life (xxxviii. 
4-8). These, however, are noticed in the historical Books. 

15. Are there any songs in this prophecy f 

Yes ; while the entire production is one grand poem, there 
are special songs of thanksgiving recorded in xii., xiv., xxv., 
and xxvi. These are songs within a song. Psalms xlvi.-xlviii. 
are attributed to Isaiah, showing him to be a real Bard as well 
as a Prophet. 



300 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

16. What sort of an operation do the higher critics insist upon 
performing on the Book of this prophecy f 

Bisection : as the prophet himself was sawn asunder, so do 
these BibHcal vivisection ists propose to cut his Book in two. 
Isaiah himself, however, declines to submit. The same mind 
is manifest in all parts of the prophecy. Two suns in one sky 
were as credible as two such flaming phenomena as Isaiah in 
one era. It is admitted, however, that there is a marked dif- 
ference in the tone and style of the two parts of the Book. 

17. What is the theme of IsaiaN s prophecy f 

The Coming of Messiah ; or the Song of Salvation. 



JEREMIAH. 

1. When did Jeremiah flourish ? 

In the last days of the monarchy, during the reigns of Jo- 
siah, the last good king of Judah, and of his degenerate de- 
scendants, Jehoahaz (Shalluni), Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin (Je- 
coniah or Coniah), and Zedekiah (i. 1-3), and also after the 
capture of Jerusalem for an indeterminate period, the time, 
place, and maimer of his death being shrouded in mystery. 
His life-story ends witli the 44th chapter. He, however, held 
the prophetic sceptre for over forty j^ears, B.C. 628-586. Nearly 
a hundred years lie between him and Isaiah. 

2. What was the state of things, politically and religiously, in 
Judah during Jeremiah's time f 

Thoroughly bad. Because of its gross apostasy Israel had 
gone into captivity ; and Judah had now become worse than 
Israel (iii. 11). Virtual paganism, with licentiousness and 
corruption, tainted even priests and prophets (xxiii.). Super- 
stitious rites crept in ; the worship of the Queen of Heaven 
and human sacrifices to Molech (vii. 17, 18 ; xliv. 18-26). 

3. ^Vhat role ivas Jeremiah called on to play f 

That of a would-be "Reformer. Endeavoring to stem the 
tide of growing evil, he was compelled to rebuke wrong and to 
denounce the judgments of God against the wrong-doers. He 



JEREMIAH., 301 

was reluctantly forced to appear, Cassandra-like, as a prophet 
of evil, dashing to the ground the false hopes with which the 
people were buoying themselves ; while in the contest between 
the Egyptian and Chaldean i)arties, he was under the ne- 
cessity of playing the part of Phocion in the parallel crisis of 
Athenian history, and to recommend, as the less of two evils, 
submission to the Chaldeans, which brought upon him the 
charge of treachery and desertion (xxxvii. 14). As a conse- 
quence, the patriotic prophet was met with such a storm of 
reproaches, insults, threats, and sulfering, as might have ap- 
palled the stout heart of even an Isaiah. His public life was a 
prolonged martyrdom ; and hence he is sometimes called the 
Martyr Prophet. 

4. What were Jeremiah'' s qualifications for these duties? 

Naturally, none at all ; on the contrary, owing to his shrink- 
ing timidity and retiring disposition, he is the last man we 
should have selected to do the work. Like John the Bap- 
tist, however, sanctified and ordained a propliet even before 
he was born, God, Who chose him, also qualified him, and, 
in commissioning him for his office, gave him assurance of 
His support and of final victory over all his enemies. The 
whole nation was against him, but God was with him ; and 
God and Jeremiah were a majority and prevailed (i.). 

5. Hoiv did Jeremiah discharge his m^inistry 9 

Fearlessly and faithfully. He faced misrepresentation, per- 
secution, the dungeon and death, rather than keep back one 
word of the truth. It is true that, at times, smarting under 
the stings of the scorn and derision to which he was constantly 
subjected, in an EHjah-like fit of despondency. Job-like, he 
cursed the day on which he was born ; but very soon, his spirit 
recovering its wonted tone and feeling, he promptly returned 
to his duty again (xxi. 7-18). 

6. What are the characteristics of Jeremiah as a preacher ? 

Deep pathos, intense earnestness, searching practicalness. 
Impassioned in exhortation, he is urgent, vehement, to agony 
(xxiii. 9). His words are variant ; full of fire and force and 
fury, a veritable Boanerges, he now thunders out his indigna- 



30'2 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

tion against his own people, pours out lava streams of invective 
on the heathen nations (xlv.-li.) ; and again, a model for all 
preachers, with the tenderness of tlie Saviour Himself, he 
weeps over Jerusalem's sins, and the woes that he knoMs must 
surely follow in their train. Mingled with his ardor of spirit, 
gentleness of rebuke and earnestness of appeal, there are here 
and there in this Book touches of poetic grandeur (iv. 23-31 ; 
xlvi.-li.). 

7. WUh what success wei^e Jeremiah'' s labors attended ? 

None. Judah remained perverse, disobedient, incorrigible. 
Jehoiakim in contempt burned his Roll, and Zedekiah was 
vainly warned of the coming Captivity. Notwithstanding his 
heroism and gentleness, his bold rebukes made him hated. 
They counted him their enemy because he told them the 
truth. His words were to the nation "a savor of death unto 
death" (xxxvi. 20-23). 

8. What is the nature of the Book of Jeremiah ? 

It is a representative collection of the outlines of the various 
prophetic sermons or addresses delivered by the prophet during 
the forty years of his ministry, thrown together here without 
much regard to chronological order, and sometimes in utter 
violation of it. 

9. Ho^v may the contents of the Book he divided f 

Into two parts : (1) that containing the prophet's utterances 
against Judah with items of his own personal history (i.-xliv.) ; 
(2) his predictions concerning the foreign or Gentile nations, 
especially Babylon (xlvi.-li.). Chapter xlv. is an independent 
fragment, and lii. is an Appendix taken largely from 2 Kings 

XXV. 

10. How m,ay the first part he subdivided f 

Into five parts : (1) an introduction (i.) ; (2) prophecies 
against Judah and the false prophets (ii.-xxv.) ; (3) two great 
prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem and the history connected 
with them (xxvi.-xxviii.) ; (4) the message of comfort to those 
already captive in Baljylon (xxix.-xxxi.) ; (5) the history of 
the last two years before the capture of Jerusalem, and the 
period immediately following (xxxii.-xliv.). Chapters xxxii. 



JEREMIAH. 303 

36-xxxiii. 26 are, for their brightness and cheerfuhiess of tone, 
in strong contrast with tlie other portions of the Book— hght 
in the midst of darkness. 

11. What is the burden of all the prophecies to Judah f 

Certain and impending ruin, to be followed by as certain, 
though remote, restoration — Ruin, Repentance, Restoration. 

12. What are the emblems by which Jeremiah accompanied 
som,e of his prophecies f 

The almond-tree and the seething pot indicating that the 
judgments denounced would come quickly and be severe (i. 11- 
16) ; the potter at work as an emblem of God's sovereignty 
among the nations (xviii. 1-10) ; the breaking of a potter's ves- 
sel in the sight of the princes and priests as a sign of the de- 
struction of Jerusalem (xix.) ; the baskets of good and bad figs 
as a sign of the deliverance of the first captives in Babylon and 
the destruction of Zedekiah and his kingdom (xxiv.) ; the 
bonds and yokes sent to the various foreign nations as an em- 
blem of their downfall and the supremacy of Babylon (xxvii. 
1-11) ; a decayed girdle and bursting wine-bottles (skins) as 
emblems of the destruction of the pride and glory of Judah 
(xiii. 1-14) ; the casting of the roll on which was written the 
prediction of the fall of Babylon with a stone attached into the 
Euphrates as an emblem of the destruction of that great city 
(h. 59-64). 

13. What peculiar people receive honorable mention in this 
Book f 

The Rechabites — the total abstainers of the time — whose re- 
gard for the memory of their Father led to their unyielding 
obedience to his prohibition ; and which contrasted strongly 
with, and put to shame, the unblushing disobedience of the 
Jews to the laws of Jehovah their God (xxxv.). 

14. Under what names does Jeremiah represent the coming 
Christ ? 

As the Branch, the King on David's Throne, the Lord our 
Righteousness (xxiii. 5-8 ; xxxiii. 15-18) ; and typically in Jer- 
emiah himself, coming with a rejected message of repentance 



304 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

and salvation, and in the baptism of complicated suffering with 
which lie was baptized. 

15. What other p7'edictions relative to the New Dispensation 
does the prophet make'? 

He foretells very clearly the abrogation of the Mosaic law (iii. 
15-18) ; the propagation af a more spiritual religion than the 
old (Cf. xxxi. 31-3-4 ; Heb. x. 15-17) ; describes the efficacy of 
the atonement, and the excellence of the Gospel in giving holi- 
ness as well as pardon (Cf. xxxiii. 8 with Heb. viii. 8-13) ; the 
call of the Gentiles (iii. 17) ; and the return of the Jews from 
their captivity (xxix. 10-14; xxxiii. ; 1. 4-6, 17-20). Jeremiah 
as well as Isaiah is thus seen to be an Evangelical prophet. 

16. Are there any prayers of the prophet recorded in this 
Book ? 

Yes ; and all models of supplication. They are to be found 
as follows : x. 23-25 ; xiv. 7-9, 19-22 ; xv. 15-18 ; xvii. 14-18 ; 
xviii. 18-23 ; xxxii. 16-25. 

17. What refci'cnce does Jeremiah make in this prophecy re- 
specting the Ten Tribes ? 

He predicts their return and union with the house of Judah 

(iii. 18). 

18. WJiat familiar passages are there in Jerem^iah f 

That about the exchange of the fountain for the cistern (ii. 
12, 13) ; " The harvest is passed," etc., and " Is there no balm 
in Gilead," etc. (viii. 18-22) ; the wish of sorrow— " Oh, that 
my head were waters," etc. (ix. 1) ; " Can the Ethiopian change 
his skin?" etc. (xiii. 23) ; "The heart is deceitful," etc. (xvii. 
9) ; " Rachel weeping for her children," etc. (xxxi. 15). 

19. What fine description of God is herein given f 

That in x. 1-16, in which the majesty of Jehovah is com- 
pared with idols. 

20. In what, according to Jeremiah, does true religion and 
right knoivledge of God consist f 

Obedience to the moral precepts (vii. 23), and true humanity 
(xxii. 13-19). 



LAMENTATIONS. 305 

21. How does Jeremiah fare at the hands of the higher critics ? 

Badly indeed. Poor man, they put him in tlie pit again, 
where they cruelly leave him to sink, and, mayhap, to perish 
in the mire. The Babylonians spared him, but with the higher 
critics he is in far worse hands than those of the Chaldeans. 
With them the prophet is in the hands of the Philistines 
indeed. 

LAMENTATIONS. 

1. What department in the Temple is this Book 9 

It is the Chamber of Mourning in which the sorrow-stricken 
prophet pours out his heart over the ruin and desolation that 
had befallen his country at large, and the Holy City and the 
Temple in particular ; and in which the grief-stricken people 
of the world from time to time, drawn hither through sym- 
pathy, come to unburden their hearts and relieve their sor- 
rows by adopting the language of " the weeping prophet." 

2. By ivhat nam.es is this cham,ber commonly known 9 

In the Hebrew Bible it is called by the quaint but significant 
title *' Ah How !" the first two words of the Book ; in the Sep- 
tuagint "Threnoi," signifying mourning; and in our English 
Bible " Lamentations." These names are all appropriate, the 
prophecy being written in the minor strain and of the nature 
of a funeral dirge. The whole is the wail of a broken heart. 

3. Who was the author of this Book 9 

Undoubtedly Jeremiah, to whose Book of prophecies it is a 
fitting Appendix, and of which in the Hebrew it formed a 
part. 

4. What is the nature of this Book f 

It is not so much a book in five chapters, as five separate 
poems, isolated elegies, each complete in itself; all, however, 
written in the same strain, Avhich serves to give both a logical 
and literary unity to the whole. 

5. What are the subjects of these various elegies f 

In the first Lament, Zion appears a weeping widow in the 
habiliments of woe ; in the three following, the Holy City in 

20 



306 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

ruins ; while in the fifth the people chant mournfully, confess 
their sin, bewail their woe, and appeal to the pity of God. 

6. What is peculiar about the Book as a whole ? 

It is very artificial. A complicated alphabetical structure 
pervades nearly the whole Book, all but the last chapter being 
in the original Hebrew Alphabetical Acrostics, in which every 
stanza begins with a new letter. All the chapters or poems 
except the third contain exactly 22 verses, and are, for the 
most part, similarly constructed. 

7. What was the occasion of this plaint ? 

The capture and destruction of Jerusalem by the army of 
Nebuchadnezzar, 586 B.C.. Like "Gray's Elegy written in a 
country Churchyard," this exquisitely pathetic production of 
the patriot-prophet is Jeremiah's Elegy written in the midst 
of the ruin and desolation of the Holy City. Poetical in form 
as well as in fact, the Lamentations would seem to properly 
belong in the Poetical Division of the Old Testament Books. 

8. What features of the Lamentations are worthy of being 
emphasized ? 

Its richness in expressions of patriotic feeling, and of the 
penitence and trust which becomes an afflicted Christian ; 
while, as a composition, it is remarkable for the great variety 
of poetic images it contains, expressive of the deepest sorrow, 
and worthy of the subject they are designed to illustrate. 

9. What was the chief object of this Book f 

To teach the suffering Jews neither to despise " the chasten- 
ing of the Lord," nor to "faint" when "rebuked of Him," 
but to turn to God with deep repentance, to confess their sins, 
and humbly look to Him alone for pardon and deliverance. 

10. What is the comparative practical value of the Lamenta- 
tions ? 

No Book has done the work it was meant to accomplish 
more effectually than this. It has supplied thousands with 
the fullest utterance for their sorrows in the critical periods 
of individual or national suffering. It doubtless soothed the 
weary years of Bab3donian exile. Its words still enter, some- 



EZEKIEL. 307 

tinies, at least, into the prayers of the pilgrim Jews who meet 
at "the place of wailiug" to m.ourn over the departed glory 
of their city. It enters largely, too, into the nobly-constructed 
order of the Latin or Roman Catholic Church for the services 
of the Passion-week. 

11. What are the characteristics of Jeremiah'' s ivritings as a 
whole f 

They exhibit great tenderness and elegiac beauty of senti- 
ment ; but his utterance being, as it were, interrupted by sobs, 
the " weeping prophet" was without the energy to soar to the 
poetic heights of the eagle-winged Isaiah. He is now tremu- 
lous in grief, now urgent in entreaty, now loud in anger, and 
now swells into lofty poetr3^ Though pathos jDredominates in 
his style, Jeremiali is, however, far from being wholly an 
elegiac poet ; as witness the. fire and fury of his prophecies 
against the Gentile nations (xlvi.-li.). 

12. What word in common use is derived from the elegiac 
feature of Jeremiah^ 8 writings ? 

Jeremiad — any plaintive address or dolorous discourse. 



EZEKIEL. 

1. What is the distinguishing characteristic of this Book ? 

The magnificent symbolism and perplexing allegories of 
which it is full, and which constitutes it a veritable labyrinth 
of the mysteries of God— a treasurj^ of gold and gems, but 
triple-barred, and guarded by watching seraphim. 

2. To what stellar body has Ezekiel been compared ? 

The Comet. Sharp, distinct, yet nebulous, swift, sword- 
shaped, blood-red, he hangs in the Old Testament skj^, rather 
burning as a portent, than shining as a prophet. 

3. By ivhat features of this prophetical phenomenon are lue 
specially attracted f 

It is not his magnitude, or solidity, so much as his intensity 
and his strangeness which astonish us. It is not the amount 
of light which he gives, which we value so much, as the heat, 
the excitement, and curiosity which he produces. 



308 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

4. What do we know of this propheV s history? 

Simply what is recorded by himself in i. 1-3 and xxiv. 15-18. 
Thence we learn that he was one of the Jewish captives carried 
to Babylon with Jehoiakim, eleven years before the final cap- 
ture and destruction of Jerusalem, and that, on the death of 
his wife, as a sign of the sorrow unspeakable about to come on 
his people, he was forbidden to mourn for " the desire of his 
eyes." His prophetic career extended over a period of 22 
years, from B.C. 595-578. 

5. What are the chai^acteristics of EzeJciel as a man and a 
prop>het ? 

Unlike Jeremiah, he was naturally a man of stern and in- 
flexible energy of will and character (iii. 4-11). He was much 
more a writer than a preacher ; his pen was more conspicuous 
than was his tongue. He is a pure Seer who had visions of 
God. Prophet of the Iron Harp, his style, always vivid and 
fervid, is as varied as his subjects, but always with a manner 
entirely liis own. His prose is simple and unaffected ; while 
his poetry possesses a sublimity, a tenderness, a beauty, and a 
melody wholly peculiar to itself. Like Jeremiah, only to a 
less degree and in a different way, he was a martyr for his 
people (iv. ; xxiv. 15-18). 

6. In ivhat respects does the Book of this prophecy differ from 
all the others ? 

Two : its lofty and visionary groundwork, being largely the 
record of a succession of trances ; and in the singular abun- 
dance and variety of its typical acts and attitudes. 

7. What are the characteristics of the visions of Ezekiel ? 

A scenery gigantic as that of dreams, select as that of pic- 
tures, rich as that of fancy, and distinct as that of nature, sur- 
rounds his motions and swims before his eyes (i. ; vii.-xi. ; 
xxxvii. 1-18 ; xl.-xlviii.). 

8. ^Vhat are the typical acts of the prophecy 9 

The eating of a roll of deadly sweetness (iii.) ; the enacting 
of a mimic siege against a tile (iv. 1-3) ; the eating of a nau- 
seous cake and drinking water in limited quantities (iv. 9-17) ; 
the shaving of the prophet's head and the destruction of the 



EZEKIEL. 309 

hair (v.) ; the making and showing of a chain (vii. 23-27) ; the 
prophet's eating and drinking his daily food witli quaking and 
trembling (xii. 17-20) ; the getting ready to move (xii. 1-16) ; 
all of which in their own way were designed to set forth the 
Captivity and its attendant and consequent desolation and 
misery. 

9. In what other ways does the prophet set forth the captivity 
and desolation of Judah and Jerusalem ? 

By means of proverbs (as xii. 22) ; parables (as xvii.) ; poems 
(asxix.) ; allegories (as xxiii., xxiv.) ; and by open prophecies 
(as vi., vii., xx., etc.). 

10. What are the more striking of EzekieVs visions f 

That of the wheels (i.) expressive of the grandeur, sublimity, 
wisdom and power, complication and mystery of all the opera- 
tions of God in Creation, Providence, Scripture, and Grace ; 
that of the Dry Bones by which the restoration of Israel is 
typified (xxxvii. 1-18) ; and thatof the Healing Waters, which 
as accurately as beautifully depicts the Nature, Progress, and 
Eflfects of the Gospel (xlvii. 1-12). 

11. What is the prevailing spirit of EzekieVs prophecy f 

Like "Saul of Tarsus," Ezekiel was no cosmopolite, but an 
Hebrew of the Hebrews. His Levitical training and priestly 
bias are always visible, notably in xl.-xlviii. ; yet traces of the 
Gospel and a spiritual religion are by no means infrequent in 
this Book (xi. 17-20; xvi. 6-14; xvii. 22-24; xxxiv. 20-31; 
xxxvi. 25-27; xxxvii.; xxxix. 23-29; xlvii. 1-12; xlviii. 35). 
Some of these passages had an historical realization, but in 
tone and spirit they are thoroughly Messianic (1 Pet. i. 10-13). 

12. Considered as a preacher, what is a m,arked peculiarity 
of EzekieVs m^ethods f 

Sprinkled amid the frequent grandeurs and rare beauties of 
his Book, are practical appeals, of close and cogent force. 
Such, for instance, are his picture of a watchman's duty 
(xxxiii.), his parable of sour grapes (xviii.), and his addresses 
at various times to the shepherds (xxxiv.), to the elders (xx.), 
and to the princes of Israel (xix.). From dim imaginative 



310 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

heights, he comes down^ like Moses from the darkness of 
Sinai, with face shining and foot stamping out indignation 
against a guilty people, who thought him lost in his serial at- 
titudes. He is at once, therefore, the most poetical and prac- 
tical of preachers. 

13. What passage of special beauty of diction is found in 
this book f 

The picture of the loving-kindness of the Lord (xvi. 6-14), 
which a competent judge calls " the most delicately beautiful 
in the written language of men." Like sweet music, it sounds 
all the more sweetly and strangely from the medium it has 
found. It reposes here amid rude strength, like a finished 
statue found in an aboriginal cave. It seems almost a frag- 
ment from Solomon's Song. In this point of his genius 
Ezekiel resembles Dante. Like Dante, he loves the terrible ; 
but like Dante, too, the beautiful seems to love him. 

14. What was the su2oreme pwpose of Ezekiel in his prophecy f 

This was twofold : To endeavor to cure his people of idolatry 
and save their city ; but failing in tliis, to comfort the cap- 
tives by assurances of the Salvation of a Remnant, and their 
restoration to their own land, on condition of their repentance. 
Ruin, Repentance, Restoration — this was the burden of Eze- 
kiel's message to his people. 

15. Compared ivith Jeremiah^ what ground does Ezekiel 
cover ? 

Jeremiah, prophesying in Jerusalem, sketches the moral 
condition of God's people, from the 13th year of Josiah's 
reign ; Ezekiel, by the river Chebar in Babylon, between the 
captivities of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, the last two kings of 
Judah. 

16. With what other Scripture writers should Ezekiel be com- 
pared f 

Daniel and John in the Apocalypse. With the latter more 
than eighty points of contact are found. The fourfold Living 
Creatures seen in Ezekiel's vision on earth appear in John's 
in Heaven. 



EZEKIEL. 311 

17. WTiat is the difference between EzekieVs vision of the 
church and that of John f 

The former sees the Church in judgment with the Temple 
ritual (xl.-xlviii.) ; while Jolm, in Bevelation, sees the Church 
in purity and victory with no Temple (Rev. xxi. 22). 

18. How may the contents of the Book be best divided 9 

Into four parts : (1) the announcement of the complete over- 
throw of the kingdom of Judali on account of its increasing 
and incurable unfaithfulness to God (i.-xxiv.) ; (2) the over- 
throw of the seven surrounding nations which were exulting 
maliciously over the ruin of .Tudah (xxv.-xxxii.) ; (3) warn- 
ings and promises to Israel and Judah (xxxiii.-xxxix.) ; (4) 
the Ideal Temple and City. Like the first chapter of Jere- 
miah, the first three chapters of tliis Book may be considered 
as an introduction to the entire prophecy. 

19. How is the union and incorporation of Israel with Judah 
set forth in this prophecy f 

It is symbolized by the joining together of two sticks 
(xxxvii. 15-28). 

20. What is the name of EzekieVs great city f 

" The Lord is there." That is the city into which only the 
pure in heart can enter, and whose glory is in keeping with its 
name— the Heavenly City, the New Jerusalem (Cf. xlviii. 35, 
with Rev. xxi. and xxii.). 

21. What is a striking peculiarity of EzekieV s prophecies f 

The "Thus saith Jehovah God" with w^iich he almost in- 
variably introduces them, and the phrases with which, as a 
refrain, he concludes them— " They shall know that I 
AM Jehovah." 



312 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



DANIEL. 

DANIEL AND THE CRITICS. 

1. What is odd about Daniel considered as a prophecy ? 

It is not found in the collection of the Prophets in the He- 
brew Bible,— though that collection was made a hundred years 
after the Exile when Daniel is said to have lived— but among 
the Ketubim— the later and supplementary class of Sacred 
Writings. 

2. What diverse views concerning Daniel as a Book are now 
current f 

Three: (1) the old traditional view that regards its narra- 
tives as recitiug historic facts; (2) that, like Job, Jonah, 
and Ecclesiastes, the narratives are simply didactic fiction 
—apologue— a literary device chosen purposely to convey 
religious truth without any design of teaching historic fact ; 
(3) that the Book, instead of being a product of the time of 
the Exile, as has been all along supposed, was written at least 
300 years later, in tlie time of the Maccabees, about 150 B.C., and 
that, therefore, wliat has heretofore been looked upon as pre- 
dictive in Daniel (xi.), is but an account by an onlooker of 
what was actually then taking place, but couched in these 
phrases of vision and prophecy. The last two views, though 
revolutionary and startling, are nevertheless gaining currency 
among even Christian scliolars of the present day. 

3. What reasons are assigned for the belief that the Book is 
the production of the later date f 

Five : (1) The Book is not in the Hebrew collection of 
Prophets; (2)" no mention of Daniel, Book or man, is found in 
Ezra-Nehemiah, the histories of the Exile, or in Haggai, 
Zechariah, or Malachi the prophecies of the Restoration Era ; 
(3) Daniel does not appear in the list of Hebrew worthies given 
by Jesus, the son of Sirach, who gives a full catalogue of all 
the great worthies of Israel, including the prophets ; (4) the 
circumstantial character of the alleged predictions, no such 
elaborated programme being found in any other prophetic 
utterance in the Scriptures ; and (5) the use of Persian words 
which seem to fix it at a later date than the Babylonian period. 



DANIEL. 313 

4. What reason is assigned for the second view, viz., that 
Daniel is didactic fiction f 

That some of the statements in its narrative parts are im- 
historic. The recent revelations made by the decipherment 
of the cuneiform tablets warrant historic critics, so they 
allege, in declaring that, contrary to the statement of v. 31, 
and vi., no Median sovereignty over Babylonia preceded the 
Persian, and that Darius the Mede is not a historical figure. 

5. What effect luould these recent criticisms, if true, have upon 
the value of the Book ? 

They would reduce somewhat the element of the marvel- 
lous contained therein ; but would in no wise reduce the moral 
and spiritual value of it. Historical criticism leaves unim- 
paired the religious value of the passages with which it deals. 
The emptiness of idolatry, the impotence of false gods, the 
rescuing and the retributive agency of Jehovah are impressed 
upon the mind no less sharplj^ by the story of Daniel, whether 
Darius the Mede is a real personage, or whether the writer has 
followed a tradition that transposed the Great Darius and 
changed his nationality. The Holy Spirit may use anj^ 
medium for conveying truth He sees fit — whether fact or fic- 
tion—and it is the business of Christian scholarship to deter- 
mine what that form is. 

6. Was Daniel, then, a historical person 9 

The question has been much disputed, but the preponder- 
ance of evidence and opinion is largely in favor of an affirma- 
tive answ^er. It is hardly to be supposed that such a character 
was wholly fictitious ; and it is fair, at least, to presume that 
such a person actually existed, and that the narratives of his 
great fidelity and piety are at anj^ rate founded on fact. 

7. What proof have lue from Scripture that Daniel luas a 
historical person f 

The references to Daniel, as in the case of Job, outside of his 
own Book are but few^ — only five in all ; and three of these 
are by his contemporary Ezekiel (xiv. 14, 20; xxviii. 3), and 
two by Evangelists (Matt. xxiv. 15 ; Mark xiii. 14). Each of 
these passages, however, points strongly to his historicity. 



314 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

DANIEL, PROPHET AND MAN. 

8. What was the character of Daniel f 

A model of early piety (i.), he preserved his purity and recti- 
tude in all his subsequent life, in defiance of the seductions 
and terrors of a splendid Pagan Court. One of tlie most ad- 
mirable of Scripture worthies, he was a most dignified coun- 
sellor, a fearless saint, an ardent patriot, a blameless man, and 
a magnificent dreamer. His genius, furnished with every 
advantage of education, and every variety of Pagan learning, 
was consecrated to God. He was " a man greatly beloved" 
(x. 11), and even in his early manhood famous for his wisdom 
and rectitude (Ez. xiv. 14-20 ; xxviii. 3). The window of his 
prophec3% hke that of his chamber, stood open towards Jerusa- 
lem (vi. 10). 

9. Is there any parallel between the character and history of 
Daniel and those of Joseph f 

Yes ; between the two — the patriarch and the prophet — 
there is a striking similarity. Daniel was the Joseph of his 
time. Tliey are the two model characters of the Bible. Not 
a single thing is said to the discredit of either. Both were 
captives ; both won for themselves the royal favor by their 
skill in interpreting dreams ; and both rose in their respective 
monarchies to a dignity and authority second only to the 
kings tliemselves. Their fidelity, tlieir manly virtue, their 
reverence and fear of God, their noble moral heroism, procured 
for each both fame and fortune — great renown and great 
reward (Cf. i.-vi. with Gen. xxxix.-xli.). 

10. What is the character of Daniel as a prophet? 

His place among the Old Testament brotherhood is unique. 
He is sui generis, and stands alone. His prophecies are apoca- 
lyptic in character, and are as distinct from the other pro- 
phetic writings as the Apocalypse of John is from the Apos- 
tolic Epistles. Daniel was the original apocalyptist, and the 
model after which all later apocalyptic literature is con- 
structed. 

11. How does Daniel compare ivith Isaiah, Jeremiah, and 
Ezekiel ? 

They were prophets and little else ; while Daniel was a chief 



DANIEL. 315 

counsellor in a great empire, and ranks rather with Moses and 
David than with them. They seem to have been poor, soli- 
tary, and wandering men, despised and rejected ; while Daniel 
was a favorite with monarchs. Their predictions exposed them 
to danger and shame ; his " dreams" drew him aloft to riches 
and honor. They were admitted now and then among princes, 
because they were prophets ; but Daniel's power of prophecy 
made him a prince. Their predictions came generally naked 
to their waking eyes — they were day-dreams ; but his were 
often softened and shaded by the mist of sleep. 

12. How does Daniel as a dreamer compare with other famous 
dream^ers ? 

Bunyan has been called the "Prince of Dreamers ;" but in 
this illustrious succession the dreamer of Bedford Jail is only 
prince the Third ; for while Joseph is the First, Daniel is the 
Second in this dim dynasty. Second- in order of time, how- 
ever, the Captive of Babylon is facile 2^1'inceps, the chief, the 
prince, the head of the succession in point of the magnitude, 
grandeur, and comprehensiveness of the dreams which he ex- 
pounded or the visions which he saw. They are all colossal in 
size, as befitted dreams in the palaces of Babylon. His pil- 
low was at times a throne — the throne of his genius, the 
throne of empires, and of all future ages. 



DANIEL AS A BOOK. 

13. W7iat is the character of the Book of Daniel ? 

Historico-prophetical. It is not properly a history of Jews, 
Babylonians, or Daniel, being continuous neither in matter 
nor in time of composition. Prophecy and history are inter- 
mingled, incidents from a period of about 70 years are chosen 
to illustrate the power of a fixed will, separation unto God, 
and the prayer of faith ; God's interposition in miracle, inspi- 
ration in prophecy ; Providence over kings and nations, and 
the ministry of Angels. 

14. How m,ay the contents of the Book be divided? 

Into two parts : the first is Narration (i.-vi.) ; and the second 
Apocalypse (vii.-xii.). 



^^^ THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

15. What is included in the first part f 

It embraces the captivity of Daniel and his three friends 
their education at the court of the king, their advancemen; 
and tnals issuing in tlieir great honor; the humihation of 
Nebuchadnezzar; Belshazzar's feast, and the fall of Babylon 
(i.-M.). The first chapter might be considered as a separate 
part, forming, as it does, an introduction to the entire Book 
as was the case with the Books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 

16. What is the scope of this first part? 

It gives a general view of the progressive history of the pow- 
ers of the world, and of the principles of the Divine govern- 
ment, as seen in the events of the hfe of Daniel. 

ni^alSpatr'"'-''"""-^ "^ "^"^"^ ^'^^o prominenoe in tkU 

and dols. This is seen iii six forms corresponding with the 
SIX chapters : (I) Wisdom or intelloctnal capacity (i. 17-20) • (2! 
Power to reveal Divine secrets (il.) ; (3) The worsl>ip of Jeho- 
vah versus idols (iii.) ; (4) Human t-ersus Divine Sovereignty 

mili T "7' T ""■'"' ^'"bution (V.) ; (6) Lower versus 
Higlier Law (vi.). 

18. What does the second or Aj>ocahjptic part contain f 
Two Dre:misof World Empires-the Four Beasts, and the 
Ram and He-goat; Daniel's Pra.ver of Confession and the 

Perr'anfr ■""""" i.^"«'"" ^I"-"-'- = P-Phocies aa to 
Persia and Greece; and tlie Times before the End. Thus 

Ihme?t '*f7r 'r"" '"T'""'^ "'^'"'•^ ^™'" "'« «>•«' *stab. 
ChrZ .0 H ' """ "'"'''"'' "'"''" "^«" «<» y^'-'rs before 
CHRIST, to the consummation of all things. The four king- 
doms of ii. and the four beasts of vii. are tl!e same! ^ 

19. mat are the Times of the Messiah as given in this Book f 

Seventy Heptades, or periods of seven, that is, 490 years 

from he decree of Cyrus to the Messiah's Sacrifice and the 

Sevenfold finishing of His Atoning work-B.c. 455 to A d 33 

As Christ was born from four to five years before the Christian 



DANIEL. 317 

era, as commonly reckoned, only 69 Heptades have been ful- 
filled ; the 70th week is now running (ix. 24). 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

20. For what is the Book of Daniel espeeially remarkable f 

Besides its wondrous dreams, it recites incidents of a highly 
romantic and poetical character. Indeed, Daniel is doubtless 
the most romantic Book of the Bible. There is the story of 
the children in the Burning Fiery Furnace, with the Fourth 
Man walking througli it, where three had only been cast in ; 
the story of the Transformation of Nebuchadnezzar ; that of 
the Writing on the Wall by the Armless Hand at Belshazzar's 
Feast ; and Daniel himself in the Den of Lions. Tliere are 
no more wonderful or fascinating stories than these in any 
literature. 

21 . What constitutes the crown and glory of DanieVs prophecy ? 

Its frequent glimpses of the Coming One. Over all the 
wondrous emblems and colossal confusions of his visions, 
there is seen slowly, yet triumphantly, rising, one head and 
form — the form of a man, the head of a prince (vii. 9-26). It 
is the Messiah painting Himself on the sky of the future. 
This vision at once interpenetrates and overtops all the rest. 
This is the crown of Daniel. 

22. In what languages was Daniel originally written ? 

Like Ezra and Jeremiah, Daniel was composed partly in the 
vernacular Aramaic (Chaldee), and partly in the sacred Hebrew. 
In this respect these Books are exceptions to all the rest of the 
Old Testament, which was written in Hebrew wholly. 

23. What prayers are recorded in this Book ? 

Daniel's thanksgiving (ii. 19-23), and his confession (ix. 3-19) ; 
also Nebuchadnezzar's thanksgiving (iv. 31-37). 

24. What specially sublime passage is there in Daniel f 

The address of the heavenly messenger to Nebuchadnezzar 
(iv. 29-32). 



318 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

25. What special encouragemeyit is hei^ein recorded for Chris- 
tian workers f 

Heavenly compensation. " They that be wise shall shine as 
the brightness of the firmament ; and thej^ that turn many to 
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (xii. 3). 

26. What testimony does Daniel present in fa vor of simple diet 
and total abstinence from intoxicating beverages ? 

Tlie superior pliysical condition of Daniel and his compan- 
ions after their abstemious probation, over those of their fel- 
lows who partook of the royal fare and drank of the king's 
wine (i. 8-16). 

27. What makes the Book of Daniel of special interest to the 
Christian Church f 

Its clear announcement of Christ's atonement, and of the 
time when He was to appear (ix. 24-26) ; His future dignity, 
and His second coming in the clouds of heaven (Acts i. 11). 

28. What miracles are recorded in this Book 9 

Four : the Deliverance of the Hebrew Children from the 
Burning Fiery Furnace ; the Transformation of Nebuchadnez- 
zar ; the Handwriting on the Wall ; and the Preservation of 
Daniel from the Hungry Lions. 

29. Of what special value is this Book to the young f 

Besides the examples of manly virtue and heroism it pre- 
sents, it contains many valuable mottoes specially suited to the 
period of youth : " He would not defile himself," "An excel- 
lent spirit was in him," " He was faithful," " He believed in 
his God," "Stand in thydot," etc. 

30. What is the controlling truth of Daniel ? 

The sovereignty of Jehovah our God, and His supremacy 
in all the counsels and concerns of men and nations. 



HOSEA. 319 



THE MINOR PROPHETS. 

1. How do the minor prophets differ from the major f 

They are not only shorter, but their genius, thougli high, is 
of a humbler order. The one is compared to " giant angels" 
and the other to " stripling cherubs." The constellation of the 
major prophets is likened to the Southern Cross, the minor to 
the Pleiades — a mass of minute particles of glory, each shining 
with a lustre and brilliance all its own. 

2. How many minor prophets are there f 

Twelve: Hosea, Joel, Amos ; Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Na- 
hum ; Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Mala- 
chi. Mnemonic : Ho-jo-am, Ob-jo-mi-na, Ha-ze-ha-ze-ma. 

3. What is known about these prophets ? 

Next to nothing — nothing save what may be gathered from 
their Books, and that is scarcely more than where they were 
born and possibly who their fathers were. The men are noth- 
ing, their message everything. 

4. What is a common characteristic of all the minor prophets f 

They have all a fragmentary character and a great occasional 
obscurity, which very much annoyed both translators, verbal 
critics, and interpreters. 

HOSEA. 

1. To ivhoTU does this prophet address himself? 

Unlike Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, who addressed them- 
selves in part to Heathen nations, Hosea is wholly a national 
prophet. He confines his ire within the circle of his own 
country ; not a drop spills beyond. One thought fills his 
whole soul and prophecy — the thought of Israel's and Judah's 
estrangement from God, and how they may be restored. 

2. What was the state of Israel in Hosea* s time f 

Socially, politically, and religiously about as bad as bad 
could be. The picture the prophet paints is dark and terrible 



320 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

(iv. 1, 2 ; V. 1-5, etc.)- Israel was wholly apostate — a faithless 
wife of a Divine husband, the worship of Jehovah being cor- 
rupted with idolatry and profaned by formality. 

3. What is a marked peculiarity of the propheVs addresses '? 

His heart tosses to and fro, alternating between stern and 
tender emotions towards Ephraim, as between conflicting 
minds. At one time he is as a "lion unto Ephraim, to tear, 
and to go away" (v. 14; xiii. 7, 8) ; but again he cries out, " How 
shall I give thee up, Ephraim? I will not execute my fierce 
auger ; I will not turn to destroy Ephraim utterly" (xi. 8, 9). 
In these vibrations of the balance in which the nation hangs 
lies the great interest of this Book. 

4. How does the style of Hosea compare with that of the oilier 
prophets f 

Beyond any of his fellows, Hosea is very concise, terse, ener- 
getic, sententious, epigrammatic. His utterances might be bet- 
ter called Hosea's sayings than Hosea's sermons. His meta- 
phors are many, but broken — mixed ; many of his sentences 
are begun but never ended ; his rhytlim is irregular ; his idioms 
peculiar ; and is hurried by his impassioned earnestness from 
topic to topic, from feeling to feeling, and from one form of 
speech to another, much to the perplexity and confusion of 
both reader and critic. 

5. What is the character of Hosea'' s concluding words ? 

They are the sweetest, roundest, most unexpected of the 
prophetic perorations. All the woes, warnings, struggles, hard 
obscurities, and harsh ellipses and transitions are melted down 
in a strain of music, partly pensive and partly joyous, fresh as 
if it rose from earth, and serial as if it descended from Heaven. 
The prophecy may be compared to a water-fall which tears and 
bruises its way, amid spray and rainbows, through a dark gul- 
ley, and gains with difficulty a placid pool at the base, where 
it sleeps a sleep like the first sleep after torture. 

6. What point of resemblance is there between Hosea's per- 
sonal history and that of Isaiah ? 

Both had children born to them whose names were given 
them by Divine direction, as Isaiah says, for signs and wonders 
in Israel (Cf. i. 4-9 ; Isa. viii. 1-4, 18). 



JOEL. 321 

7. How is the narrative of the propheVs marriage in the \st 
chapter regarded f 

Variously : some look upon it as symbolical ; others, as literal 
history ; others suppose that a marriage with an Israelitish 
woman, notorious for her idolatry or spiritual unfaithfulness, 
is all that is intended ; but most regard it as allegorical, or as 
a vision. 

8. What is the prevailing spirit of this prophecy f 

It is thoroughly, even strikingly, evangelical in its tenor 
and many of its utterances (vi. 6). It is full of texts for the 
preacher. The 6th, 13th, and 14th chapters are peculiarly rich 
in statements adapted to awaken those feelings of penitence 
and faith which become the Christian and the Church in every 
age ; while in xiv. 2-4 we are furnished with a beautiful model 
of penitential prayer. These rugged pages sparkle with strik- 
ing and familiar sentences. 

9. What is the dominant thought of Hosea^s prophecy ? 

Jehovah the only Rescue of a sin-ruined Race and Nation 

(xiii. 9). 

10. What are the divisions of the Bookf 

Two: (1) The Marriage Covenant with Jehovah (i.-iii.) ; 
and (2) the Stages of Decline : the exhortation to Return (iv.- 
xiv.). 

JOEL. 

1. To whom did this prophet address himself^ 

To Judah wholly, and was the first prophet of the southern 
kingdom, 700 B.C. 

2. What is the scope of this prophecy ? 

It is a grand outline of the whole terrible scene, which is de- 
picted more and more in detail by subsequent prophets. It is 
not confined to any particular invasion, but in its all-including 
scope embraces or covers the whole great and terrible Day of 
the Lord. 

21 



322 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

3. What is the substance of JoeV s py^ophecy ? 

Desolatioo, mourning, and woe. Locusts and Drought are 
used as symbols of swarms of invaders and dried up national 
resources. The locust is the hero of the Book. Black and 
broad, as if cast from the shadow of a fallen angel's wing, is 
the ruin described in ii. 1-11. 

4. What are the sins for ivhich judgments so terrible are to 
be inflicted f 

These are not specified by Joel, and must be learned from 
the history in the Kings, Chronicles, and the other prophets. 
He makes no reference to Israel or to idolatrous practices. 

5. Is the darkness of JoeVs pages lightened in any way ? 

Yes ; promises of physical plenty alternate with threatening 
of ph^'sical destruction. And rich, indeed, are the years he 
predicts to succeed those of famine (ii. 18-27; iii. 18-21). Be- 
sides this promise of physical plenty, he foretells the Future 
Effusion of the Holy Spirit, the Latter Rain after the 
Drought. Joel is thus the Prophet of Pentecost (Cf. ii. 28-32; 
Acts ii. 14-21). 

6. What is the literary style of this prophet f 

Gloomj' grandeur. Clear and elegant, vivid and eloquent, 
Joel's style surpasses that of all the other prophets ; while in 
point of sublimity, he is equalled only by Isaiah and Habak- 
kuk. Some good critics regard the style of Joel the very finest 
of any of the Old Testament writers. 

7. How may the contents of this prophecy be divided 9 

Into three parts : (1) The Judgments of God upon His Own 
People (i.-ii. 11) ; (2) the Call to Repentance, the Promise 
of Plenty and Pentecost (ii. 12-32) ; (3) the Judgment of God 
upon the Enemies of His People (iii. 1-21). 

8. What are the different views as to the character of the 
destruction described in first two chapters? 

Some regard the whole as literal ; others as figurative ; while 
still others combine both views, and deem it a description 
of impending calamity generally, both literal and figurative. 
And this last view is doubtless correct ; for as all great Divine 



AMOS. 323 

deliverances prefigure the Great Deliverance of the Cross, so 
all great Punitive Visitations supply figures for describing 
the Judgment of the Great Day. Certainly, nothing save the 
Great Last Day can fill up the entire sphere of the visitation 
described (ii. 30, 31). 

9. What is the burden of the Sd chapter f 

It is the last conflict of great principles. Through the fluc- 
tuating mist of this chapter there is dim-discovered the out- 
lines of a battle-field, where a cause — the cause of the world- 
is to be fought, fought finally, and to the watchword, " Victory 
or death !" Never was preparation on a larger scale ; suspense 
deeper ; deliverance more sudden ; or a catastrophe more sub- 
lime. Nothing can be more magnificent than the picture 
colored though it be by Jewish associations and images. 

10. What figure in Joel is copied by later prophets f 

That about the transformation of the ploughshares and 
j)runing-hooks (iii. 10) is copied by Isaiah (ii. 4) and Micah 
(iv. 3), only with the latter prophets the operation is reversed. 

11. What are the most familiar passages in Joel f 

That about the Pentecost (ii. 28-31), that about the Valley 
of Decision (iii. 14), and that concerning the nature of true 
Repentance (ii. 13). 

12. What is the substance of JoeVs prophecy ? 

Judgment— The Great Day of Jehovah— Ruin, Repent- 
ance, Restoration. 



AMOS. 

1. How is this prophet commonly knoivn ? 

As the Herdsman of Tekoa ; because, though neither a 
prophet nor a prophet's son, the Lord called him to the 
honors and perils of the prophetic office from following the 
flock (i. 1 ; vii. 14-15). As a consequence, coming straight 
from the cattle-stall and the solitary pasture, though by no 
means destitute of genius, he is the least cultured of any of the 
goodly company of prophets, but few of whom are eminent for 



324 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

literary finish and cultivation. As Burns among the poets is 
Amos among the prophets. He is called also " the Shepherd 
Seer." 

2. To whom was Amos sent f 

A native of Judah, he was sent as a prophet to Israel, whose 
evils, like Hosea, he denounced, and whose overthrow by a 
foreign foe he predicted. The scene of his ministry was Bethel, 
where, at the time, was the king's court (vii. 13). 

3. Does the style of Amos betray his origin f 

Yes ; a strong bull of Bashan, he leaps in " two years before 
the earthquake," and bellows out, "Jehovah will roar from 
Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem." His imagery is 
generally pastoral, and comes in like a cool breeze from 
Bashan, to temper the ardor of his prophetic vein. 

4. What is the scope of the prophecy of Amos 9 

He turns his first fury upon the neighboring idolatrous 
nations ; and short, deep, decisive, are the crashes of his 
thunder against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and 
Moab. His burdens are only words ; but they are words of 
doom. A nation falls in every sentence (ii. 4-15). And having 
flung his forked flashes at the neighboring nations, he proceeds 
to pour out on Judah, and Israel especially, his full and over- 
flowing ire, in the remainder of the Book, concluding, how- 
ever, with the promise of a better day for his people and 
country. 

5. What was the state of Israel in the time of Amos f 

In the days of Amos the northern kingdom had reached the 
zenith of its power, wealth, and security ; and required to be 
startled from its selfish dream by the rude cries of this holy 
herdsman, whose utterances are abrupt, unvaried, and laconic, 
as midnight alarms of fire. 

6. How does the style of Amos compare with that of other 
prophets f 

Unlike some of his brethren, he does not indulge in long and 
swelling passages, whether of allegory or description. His 
prophecy is principally composed of short threatenings, short 



AMOS. 325' 

prayers, sudden exclamations, and, above all, startling ques- 
tions (iii. 3-8 ; iv. 12 ; v. 18 ; vi. 1 ; vii. 2-5, etc.). 

7. What are some of the striking words of Amos ? 

"Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel." "Seek Jehovah, 
and ye shall live." "Woe unto you that desire the Day of 
Jehovah !" "I hate and despise your feast-days." " Take 
away from me the noise of your songs." "Can two walk to- 
gether except they be agreed ? " 

8. What are the most sublim,e passages in Am,os ? 

The descriptions of Deity at iv. 12, 13 ; v. 8, 9 ; ix. 5, 6, and 
the vision of Jehovah standing upon the altar and proclaim- 
ing the inextricable dilemma into which Israel's crimes had 
led them. In all scripture there are no more powerful antith- 
eses than those recorded in ix. 1-4. The Divine omnipresence 
is here seen encompassing the victims of the Divine anger in 
a way such as readily to recall the 139th Psalm. For their bold 
sublimities and their splendor and elegance of diction, these 
passages go to show that in point of genius the " Shepherd 
Seer" was equal to the best of the minor prophets. 

9. In ivhat respect does the structure of this Book differ from 
those of the other prophets f 

Unlike them, it is not made up of parts of sermons or detached 
predictions, but is logically and artistically connected in its 
several parts, making one regularly constructed and continued 
discourse. 

10. To what has this prophecy been compared ? 

To a thunder-storm, rolling over the surrounding kingdoms, 
touching Judah in its progress, pouring the fulness of its 
power on Israel, and passing away with a bright rainbow on 
its cloud. 

11. How m>ay the discourse be thence divided? 

Into three parts : (1) judgments against the neighboring na- 
tions (i. 3-ii. 3) ; (2) judgments against Judah and Israel (ii. 4- 
ix. 10) ; (3) the coming of the Messiah promised, with the ad- 
mission of the Gentiles to His kingdom, and the final restoration 
of Israel as a spiritual people (ix. 11-xv.). 



326 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

12. What success attended the ministry of Amos f 

That it led to any reformation of manners or morals does not 
appear ; but that the preaching of the rural prophet produced 
a powerful impression at court is quite certain, as may be seen 
by his peremptory and enforced leave of absence from the 
kingdom (vii. 10-13). 



OBADIAH. 

1 . How is Obadiah singular among the prophets 9 

He has the distinction of having furnished us with the 
shortest Book in the Old Testament, and the briefest of all the 
prophecies. He is one of the prophets to the Gentiles exclu- 
sively. 

2. What is the substance of this prophecy ? 

It consists principally of predictions covering the character, 
career, doom, and downfall of Edom or Idumea ; and of the 
Restoration and prosperity of the Jews. 

3. Who was Edom ? 

The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the twin brother 
of Jacob, the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. They 
dwelt on the borders of the Land of Promise, and were to the 
last the foes of their brethren, the Israelites— proud, bitter, 
resentful neighbors (Num. xx. 14-21). The bitter hatred of 
Esau to his brother Jacob for having fraudulently obtained his 
blessing (Gen. xxvii., xxviii.), appears to have been inherited 
by his latest posterity. The Edomites were at their golden age 
when the Israelites were at their Exodus. 

4. In what light may this little Book of Obadiah be especially 
regarded f 

As a memorable rebuke to fraternal hardness of heart. It 
is a brand on the brow of that second Cain, Esau. The proph- 
et's words are stern in truth, yet plaintive in feeling (10-14). 
The Book is a sling-stone which the prophet was commissioned 
to aim at the Philistine forehead of Esau, and has been pre- 
served for us in God's Word, as a monument of his fratricidal 
folly. This is that Uttle Book of Obadiah. 



JONAH. 327 

6. W7iat are the divisions of this little Book f 

Being a sustained denunciation of the Edomites, melting, as 
Is the wont of the Hebrew prophets, into a vision of the future 
glories of Ziou, it may be divided into three parts : (1) the 
judgment announced (1-9) ; (2) its justification (10-16) ; and 
(3) tiie Salvation promised to Zion (17-21). 

6. How is this Book looked upon by the mxodern Jews f 

It is a favorite with tliem. Regarding the Edomites as the 
type of Christians, and Edom itself as a type of Rome, in this 
Book it is they read the fate of their own nation and of the 
Christians. 

7. What is the dominant thought of Obadiah f 

The indestructibleness and final triumph of the Israel of 
God. 

JONAH. 

1. What is peculiar about Jonah ? 

The most remarkable Book of the Old Testament, and the 
e7'ux of all the critics, orthodox, and heterodox, is the story of 
Jonah and the whale — the fish story of the Bible. 

2. What is the nature of the Book f 

It is classed among the prophets, but it is in no sense pro- 
phetical, being neither a sermon nor a prediction. It is a 
narrative pure and simple, and was probably classed among 
the prophetical bool^s because Jonah was a prophet. 

3. Who wrote this Book 9 

Opinions differ as to this. The traditional view is that it 
was Jonah himself; while criticism alleges that the Book is a 
story about Jonah told by somebody else long after Jonah's 
day — after the destruction of Nineveh, which took place 200 
years later. 

4. Is Jonah fact or fiction ? 

Here again opinions differ. The traditional and orthodox 
view is that it is veritable history ; while criticism regards it, 



328 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

like Job, aud Ecclesiastes, and Daniel, as didactic fiction, a 
very suggestive apologue, full of moral beauty and spiritual 
power, designed to convey important lessons to the minds of 
the Jewish people. Jonah thus becomes a hero of a drama 
rather than a hero in real life, and the story is divested wholly 
of the element of the marvellous — the supernatural. 

5. Upon what testimony do the orthodox rely for authentica- 
tion of this stoj^y ? 

The testimony of our Lord (Matt. xii. 39-42 ; Luke xi. 29, 30). 
The contention of the critics, however, is that our Lord's al- 
lusion to it cannot be fairly quoted as authenticating the nar- 
rative ; but that He simply used it, after the manner of men, 
allegoricall}' for purposes of illustration, in a literary way, and 
not at all in a dogmatic way. It is further contended that the 
ethical and religious teaching of the Book remains the same, 
whichever view of the narrative be entertained. On the other 
hand, the orthodox maintain that the narrative without the 
miracle is meaningless. 

6. What was Nineveh and what its sin ? 

It was the chief city of the Gentile world — the capital of 
heathendom, at this time at the very apex of its pride and 
prosperity — a city as intensel3'^ abhorred by the Jews as Car- 
thage was by Rome, or as Berlin is by Paris — whose crime was 
its rapacity, violence, and oppression. 

7. What was Jonah'' s message to Nineveh f 

Brief, startling, trumpet-like— " Yet forty days, and Nine- 
veh shall be overthrown !" These words are central in the 
Book ; all the rest of the narrative is but the preface to, or the 
consequence of, that doom-like announcement. 

8. What great evangelical truth does Jonah illustrate f 

The universal Divine Fatherhood, and the universal human 
brotherhood. The story of Jonah in the Old Testament is like 
a flash of lightning, which reveals for a moment that which 
is seen continually in tlie noontide splendor of the Gospel 
Dispensation. It shows the outreaching of God's mercy and 



JONAH. 329 

the wide circle of tire plan of redemption. Jonah is a grand 
tract on Foreign Missions (Acts xi. 18). 

9. What light does Jonah throw on the character of God ? 

It reveals His world-wide benevolence as no other Book of 
the Old Testament does. Marvellously, too, does the pity and 
clemency of Jehovah shine out through all this story as con- 
trasted with the petty consistency and the grudging compas- 
sion of man, as seen even in one of His own prophets. God 
is no respecter of persons (Acts x. 34). 

10. What Christian doctrine is implied in the story of Jonah 9 
The doctrine of infant salvation (iv. 11). 

11. What prayers are found in this Book 9 

The two of Jonah ; the first born of distress and made up 
largely from the Psalms, and offered up in the strangest of 
oratories, was very good and appropriate (ii.) ; the other, the 
product of a very different mood and widely variant surround- 
ings, was such as ought not to be made (iv. 1-3). 

12. For what practical purpose may this Book he used? 
As a lesson-book in penitence. 

13. JIow does the story close ? 

Abruptly, with God's question ringing in Jonah's ears. 
Like Job, it leaves God and the prophet before us in a favora- 
ble light. God is vindicated, and Jonah is bowing in acquies- 
cence before the glorious character of Jehovah. The lessons 
taught the recalcitrant prophet in Whale Theological Seminary 
at length produced their desired results. 

14. What great principles are illustrated by this story f 

To fly from duty is to fly to danger ; deliverance from danger 
often conducts to new and tenfold perils, and involves tenfold 
responsibilities ; a duty delayed is a duty doubled ; the one 
voice of an earnest man is a match for a million ; an error in 
the truest prophet can degrade his character, and cast a shade 



330 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

of doubt upon his name ; our God is very pitiful and of tender 
mercy. 

15. What are the divisions of this Book ? 

Tliree : (1) The prophet's commission, disobedience, and cor- 
rection ; (2) His prayer and deliverance ; (3) His commission 
renewed and discharged. 



MICAH. 

1. Wliat is the scope of Mlcah's prophecy f 

A purely national prophet like Hosea, speaking to both 
kingdoms, but mainly to Judali, he paints a future bright with 
blessing on the dark background of a present judgment. He 
announces that the ruin of both kingdoms with their capitals 
will be followed by the return of the Remnant, the restoration 
of the Jewish State, and the Reign of Messiah. Jehovah's 
Controversy with His people issues in infinite Compassion. 
Ruin, Repentance, Restoration— this is the burden of Micah's 
message. 

2. What is the peculiarity of this prophecy f 

Containing the gist of the prophet's ministry, and committed 
to writing towards the close of his life, this Book, in its concep- 
tion and execution, is of the nature of an organic whole, marked 
by a certain regularity of development; and accordingly it 
falls into three natural divisions, each commencing with the 
same phrase, " Hear ye," and each having this added peculiar- 
ity, it begins with rebukes and threatenings and closes with a 
promise. 

8. What are these three sections ? 

The first, addressed to the People generally, describes the 
Divine Visitation of Israel and Judah (i.-ii.) ; the second is 
addressed especially to the Princes and sets forth the Desert of 
Si!i and the Grace of ^the Last Days— the climax of prediction 
being reached in this section (iii.-v.) ; and in the thirds by a 
bold poetical figure, Jehovah's Controversy with His people 
is set forth, closing with the promise of the Divine Forgiveness 
(vi., vii.). 



MIC AH. 331 

4. What special predictions does Mieah make ? 

Besides those relating to the captivity of his people and the 
overthrow of their enemies, he foretells the birthplace of 
Christ, giving intimations also of His Divine nature (Cf. v. 
2 ; Matt. ii. 6) ; the promulgation of His Gospel from Mount 
Zion, and its results (iv. 1-7; Isa. ii. 2-4) ; and the exaltation 
of His Kingdom over all nations (Cf. iv. 2, 7 ; Luke i. 33 ; v. 
with Eph. ii. 14 ; and vii. 18, 20, with Luke i. 72, 73). 

5. Under what ohligations was Jeremiah to Micah f 

Micah was the means of saving Jeremiah's life. The latter 
had predicted the utter destruction of the city and Temple of 
Jerusalem ; whereupon he was accused as a traitor and worthy 
to die, because he had so done ; but Micah, it was shown, had 
done so before him, and he was not slain. Micah was set up 
as a precedent, and Jereniiah was allowed to escape (Cf. ill. 12 ; 
Jer. xxvi. 16-24). 

6. What is the style of the prophet Micah f 

He is noted principally for the condensation of his language, 
the rapidity of his transitions, the force and brevity of his pic- 
tures, the form of dialogue to which he often approaches, and 
for two or three splendid passages which tower above the rest 
of his prophecy like cedars above the meaner trees. His style 
has been compared to that of Isaiah and Hosea, having much of 
the poetic beauty of the one, and of the sententious, epigram- 
matic vigor of the other; while, Amos-like, his figures are 
derived from the pastoral and rural life of the lowland country 
where he dwelt. 

7. What are the finest passages in Micah f 

That in which he points out the birthplace of Immanuel (v. 
2) ; that in which he seems to sound the knell of the ceremo- 
nial economy, and which for moral grandeur is almost un- 
equalled in the Bible (vi. 6-8) ; and that in which in unrivalled 
hues he paints the character of Jehovah, Who both passes 
over transgressions and overwhelms them in the sea (Cf. vii. 
18-20 ; Ex. xii. 23 ; xiv. 27). 

8. What Divine attributes does Micah especially illustrate f 
Mercy and Faithfulness— Goodness and Severity. 



332 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



NAHUM. 

1. To whom does this prophet speak? 

A prophet of the Gentiles exclusively, Nahum, like Jouah, 
addresses himself to Nineveh. His prophecy is " the Burden 
of Nineveh," and that alone. His period is 712-685 B.C., about 
a hundred years later than Jonah. 

2. What is the difference between the mission of Jonah and 
Nahum., and how are their prophecies related? 

Jonah was sent to warn the people of Nineveh of its over- 
throw within a specified time— forty days— with a view to 
their repentance ; Nahum, to predict its total destruction, its 
complete annihilation, at a period more remote and undeter- 
mined, because of its renewed and increased wickedness. The 
threat of ''overthrow" in Jonah now changes to "an utter 
end" in Nahum. The two prophecies thus form connected 
parts of the same moral history ; the remission of God's judg- 
ments being illustrated by Jonah, and the execution of them 
by Nalmm. 

3. What is the grand characteristic of this Book ? 

It is a shout— the most magnificent shout ever uttered. In 
images never surpassed in the words or thought of man, the 
doom of the vast capital is portrayed. Like a shout, it is short, 
but strong as the shout which brought down the walls of Jeri- 
cho. One can almost see the prophet standing without the 
wall of Nineveh, and, in fierce and hasty language, uttering 
his proclamation of its coming doom. No pause interrupts it. 
There is no change in its tone. It is a stern, one war-cry, and 
comes swelled with the echoes of the past. 

4. How does Nahum'' s prophecy differ from a shout? 

In a shout, we expect nothing but strength, monotony, and 
loudness, but Nahum's is the "shout of a king;" not merely 
majestical in tone, but rises with splendid imagery and de- 
scription. Nineveh must fall to regal music. It must go 
down amid pomp and poetry. Especially does the prophet 
kindle, as he pictures the pride, pomp, and circumstance of 



NAHUM. 333 

war. The Iliad pales before the martial fire of this prophet. 
His poem gathers like a wall of fire around the devoted city. 

5. How does the prophet develop his theme f 

The poem opens with a sublime description of the attributes 
of Jehovah (i. 2-8), and is followed by a vivid and graphic 
description of the disastrous defeat of Sennacherib's host in his 
last attempt to crush the Jews (2 Chron. xxxii.), verses 12, 13, 
15, being thrown in parenthetically to comfort Israel ; the 
Siege of Nineveh is described in glowing colors and with sin- 
gular minuteness in ii. ; while the utter ruin of the city and 
the various causes contributing to it are graphically depicted 
in ill. 

6. Has Nahum' s prophecy been fulfilled'? 

Yes ; with great literality and definiteness. Profane history 
tells us so. Lucian, who flourished in the 2d century after 
Christ, and was himself a native of that region, affirms that 
the city had utterly perished and that there was no footstep 
of it remaining. So true is this, that until forty years ago 
its exact location was unknown. And the exploration of its 
mounds and monuments, since that time discovered, completely 
corroborate the prophet's description of its siege and sacking. 
Nineveh disentombed is one of the most powerful witnesses to 
the truth, and consequent inspiration, of the Scriptures. 

7. With what familiar passages do we meet in Nahum f 

"Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble ; and 
He knoweth them that trust in Him" (i. 7) ; and this— "Be- 
hold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good 
tidings, that publisheth peace" (i. 15). 

8. What great truth does the ruin of Nineveh teach ? 

That the Doom of the ungodly, though long delayed, is 
nevertheless certain. Judgment Deferred (Jonah) is not pun- 
ishment Averted (Nahum). Cf. iii. 19 ; 2 Pet. iii. 7-10 ; Heb. 
xii. 29 ; Habk. ii. 3. 



334 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



HABAKKUK. 

1. What is known about this prophet? 

Nothing. He is but a name prefixed to a rapt psalm. From 
the Book itself, however, it is clear that he lived in the reign 
of Jehoiakim, and prophesied in Judah shortly before the 
Captivity (i. 5 ; ii. 3 ; iii. 2, 16-19). 

2. What may be said of this iJropheVs name ? 

It is rugged and cacophonous — harsh-sounding — and of ca- 
cophony often used as a type ; yet rough as it is, and harsh- 
sounding, it is the name of a noble spirit, and is carved in 
bold characters in the bark of the Tree of life, and will remain 
there forever. 

3. What is the significance of this propheVs name ? 

Habakkuk is "one that embraces," and, as the Prophet of 
Faith, his very name expresses the clinging trust that lays 
hold on God, and confides in Him whatever betide (iii. 17-19). 

4. What was the occasion of this prophecy ? 

The Chaldean invasion (2 Chron. xxxvi. 5-21). These chil- 
dren of the East God uses as His Hammer to punish Judah, 
and then breaks the Hammer itself in pieces (Jer. 1. 23). 

5. Who, besides the Chaldeans, were the chief enemies of the 
Jewish nation ? 

The Edomites and the Assyrians ; and three of the prophets 
were commissioned specially to pronounce their destruction. 
Obadiah foretells the destruction of Edom ; Nahum, of the 
Assyrians ; and now Habakkuk, of the Chaldeans. 

6. How does this prophecy of Habakkuk compare with other 
sacred compositions f 

In itself it is a veritable Pompey's Pillar— tall, narrow, and 
Insulated ; while for grandeur and sublimity of conception, 
for vigor and fervor of expression, for gorgeousness of imagery, 
and for melody of language, it ranks among the very first 



HABAKKUK. 335 

productions of sacred literature. Tlie peculiar strophic ar- 
rangement of the four "woes" (ii. 9-20), and, above all, that 
magnificent "Pindaric Ode" with which the poem is brought 
to a close, have in particular challenged universal attention 
and admiration, the latter being a composition unrivalled for 
boldness of conception, sublimity of thought, and majesty of 
diction. Thus, with the mantle of the prophet, Habakkuk 
wears also the chaplet of the poet. 

7. How does theprophet-poet develop his theme'? 

The 1st chapter contains the Vision, or the part plaintive and 
prophetic ; the 2d chapter, the Accusation, or the grounds of the 
destruction of the Chaldeans ; and the 3d chapter, the Song, 
or the part reverential and exultant. These are the beginning, 
middle, and end of the prophecy. 

8. Wliat is a peculiarity of this poem-prophecy ? 

It consists of a mixture of the prophet's addresses to Jeho- 
vah in the people's name, and to the people in Jehovah's 
Name ; for it is the office of a prophet to carry messages both 
ways. And herein we have a lively representation of the 
intercourse and communion between a gracious soul and a 
gracious God. 

9. How does the beginning of this prophecy com,pare with its 

end f 

They are in contrast. In the opening part the prophet ap- 
pears as a reprover and denouncer of evil ; while in the latter 
he gives utterance to emotions of reverence, confidence, and 
joy in Jehovah as the Saviour of His people. 

10. What is the song of Habakkuk designed to illustrate ? 

The March of Jehovah through the ages of the Jewish 
economy for the Salvation of His people, in the description 
of which the poet-prophet touches the very summit of the 
sublime. 

11. To lohat great principle of saintly character does Habak- 
kuk give utterance ? 

The Just shall live by his faith (ii. 4). These signifi- 
cant words the prophet was directed to write upon tablets by 



336 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

the wayside in characters so large and plain that he that runs 
may read (ii. 2). 

12. What use is made of this motto in the New Testament f 

Paul makes it the centre of his doctrinal system (Rom. i. 7 ; 
Gal. iii. 11 ; Heb. x. 38). In Romaus, Just is the emphatic 
word ; in Galatians, Faith ; in Hebrews, Live. 

13. What use ivas made of this same motto in modern Times ? 

It became the creative sentence of the Great Reformation, 
written large by Luther, to be read by the whole race of man 
—Justification, not by penances or good works of our own, but 
through the all-sufficient merit of our Blessed Redeemer, tlie 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

14. What other passage of Habakkuk does Paul quote? 

In making liis appeal to his hearers (Acts xiii. 40, 41) the 
Apostle, quoting from the Septuagint, i. 5, and condensing the 
whole, as it were, into these three startling words, cries out 
with great vehemence— Behold ! Wonder ! Perish ! 

15. What strong passage is there in this Book against the Rum 
Traffic ? 

The bitter denunciation of ii. 15— " Woe unto him that giveth 
his neighbor drink," etc. 

16. What sentence often inscribed upon the walls of Churches 
is found in this Book? 

That in which Jehovah is contrasted with idols— "The 
Lord is in His Holy Temple ; Let all the Earth keep 
SILENCE before Him" (ii. 20). 

17. What other passages in this Book are often on the lips of 
Christians f 

That in which the prophet predicts the Evangelization of 
the World (ii. 14), the prayer for Revival (iii. 2), and that sub- 
lime and beautiful passage with which the poem closes, and 
in which the prophet expresses his abiding confidence in God, 
when things are at their worst (iii. 17-19), certain that One so 
Great must also be Good. 



ZEPHANIAH. 337 

18. What great lesson does the par(5 ^jlaintive and prophetic 
teach ^ 

That national sins bring national penalty. History is but 
a series of such retributions. 

19. What is the central figure in Hahakkuk ? 

Faith— faith in all its aspects, the pledge and test of Right- 
eousness, the fruit and proof of Life. 



ZEPHANIAH. 

1. What are the characteristics of this p>rop>het f 

Zephaniah, of whom less is known than any of his fellows, 
is less distinguished than some of his brethren for any marked 
or prominent quality. He is not abrupt, like Hosea ; gloomily 
graud, like Joel ; majestic, like Micah ; imiDctuous, like Amos ; 
or concentrated, like Nahum ; he is rather a composite of many 
qualities, and a miniature of many prophetic writers. 

2. How has this Book of Zephaniah been characterized ? 

As the " Compendium of all Prophecy." Though addressed 
to Judali and Jerusalem, it is a survey of Jehovah's universal 
government. The whole earth (ii. 3 ; iii. 8) is the theatre where 
the Judge of all displays the grandeur of Law and the glory 
of Love. From every quarter nations are chosen as examples 
of His just judgment (ii. 4, 15). 

3. What are the main features of this p)'i"02:}hecy ? 

It contains vehement denunciation of the sins of his own 
people ; the dooms of idolatrous nations which are pronounced 
with all the force and fury of his ofRce ; pictures, startling for 
life and minuteness, of the varied classes and orders of offend- 
ers in Jerusalem — princes, judges, prophets, and priests ; and 
closing and crowning the whole, there are bright promises. 
Messianic in character without mentioning the Person of the, 
Messiah. The glory of the Latter Day is foreseen, when all 
nations shall unite in the worship of the One God, Jehovah 
(ii. 11). 

22 



338 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

4. What distinction is made between the Bemnant of Baal and 
that of Judah f 

The first shall not escape (i. 4), while the latter shall survive 
even judgment (ii. 7)— punishment for their wickedness. lu 
the one case the punishment is penalty ; in the other, chastise- 
ment. 

5. What is the burden of this projyhecy as regards Judah and 
Jerusalem ? 

The same as those which haye gone before— Ruin, Repent- 
ance, and Restoration. 

6. What passage in this propheoy have recent explorations 
shown to be exactly fulfilled f 

That concerning the overthrow of Nineveh (ii. 13-15). As 
the prophet long ago predicted, so the facts are found to be. 

7. What vi the grand central thought of this prophecy ? 

Tlie certainty, near approach, and dreadfulness of the Day 
of JEHOVAH-/>/es Ira;. This Day is no less than fourteen 
times referred to in the first chapter alone. 

8. How does this Book close ? 

As the sun sometimes goes down in a blaze of glory— pro- 
phetic of the brightness of the Coming Day. 

9. What are the divisions of this Book ? 

There are three : (1) the Day of Judgment (i.-ii. 3) ; (2) the 
Provocation (ii. 4-iii. 7) ; (3) the glorious Salvation (iii. 8-20). 



THE RESTORATION. 339 

HAGGAI— ZECHARIAH— MALACHI. 
THE POST-EXILE ERA. 

1. Why are them three prophets thus linked together? 
Because they belong to one era — that of the Restoration. 

2. What is the scope of the prophets of the Restoration ? 

They confined themselves almost exclusively to two subjects 
— (1) the Re-establishment of the Hebrew People and the Re- 
habilitation of their Temple ; and (2) the Annunciation of the 
Gospel — the spiritual Israel — the true Theocracy. 

3. How are these prophets related to the histories f 

Haggai and Zechariah were among the exiles who returned 
with Zerubbabel, and co-operated with that civil governor in 
rebuilding the Temple (Ezra v. 1, 2) ; while Malachi was con- 
temporary with Nehemiah, and ably seconded that civil gov- 
ernor in his double reformation. Between the first two of this 
prophetic trio and Malachi, the last of the Old Testament 
prophets, there lies almost a century— 536-436 B.C. 

4. What effect had the Captivity upon the Jews f 

It wrought changes in the five following respects : (1) in 
Language — from Hebrew to Aramaic or Chaldaic, which is 
the Hebrew of the New Testament times; (2) in Habits— be- 
fore the captivity they were as secluded as exclusive, being 
mostly farmers living on their own fields ; but now they be- 
came merchants and traders and filled the world with their 
commerce ; (3) in Character— before the captivity they had an 
incurable tendency towards idolatry, but afterwards idolatry 
was their great abhorrence ; (4) in their Messianic Hopes, which 
grew brighter with the passing generations till the Advent it- 
self; and (5) in the Name and Division of the people them- 
selves—before the Captivity they were known as Israelites or 
Hebrews, thence afterwards they became known as Jews (the 
people of Judah) {a) of Palestine, and (6) of the Dispersion— 
those with their descendants who remained in the country of 
their exile and other foreign lands (John vii. 35). 



340 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

HAGGAI. 

1. What is the gist of HaggaVs prophecy f 

It is Jehovah's call to an apathetic people to resume the 
work which for tifteen years had been abandoned, of rebuild- 
ing His ruined Temple. He contrasts the shame of their neg- 
lect with the reward of their fidelity. He promises that Je- 
hovah will take pleasure in the work, though in material 
grandeur far inferior to the original Temple ; for, as the centre 
and startiug-point of the New Dispensation, in respect of 
moral influence and spiritual splendor, the glory of the Latter 
House — rebuilt and enlarged by Herod — shall be greater than 
the Former. 

2. Of what docs this prophecy consist? 

Of four distinct addresses: (1) the reproof and exhortation 
(i.) ; (2) the encouragement to resume and carry on the work 
(ii. 1-9) ; (3) a message to the Priests respecting the Efficiency 
of Ceremonial observances (ii. 10-19) ; (4) an address to Zerub- 
babel as the representative of the theocratic people (ii. 20-23). 

3. How does the style of Haggai compare with that of the 
pre-Exile ptrophets f 

It is comparatively tame and prosaic ; yet it is well adapted 
to the nature of his various messages. There is nothing in the 
Hebrew tongue calculated more to rouse the blood, than those 
simple words by which he sought— nor sought in vain— to 
stimulate the people to renew the work on the Temple (ii. 1-9). 

4. What is the supreme lesson of this j^rophecy ? 

That the moral and religious welfare of a nation should be 
the first and chief concern of its rulers and people, a proper 
recognition of Jehovah as Lord of all being the corner-stone 
of all enduring national prosperity. 

ZECHARIAH. 

1. What is the scope of Zechariah' s prophecy ? 

Precisely that of Haggai — " writ large." This he seeks to 
accomplish, if not with greater energy, yet by bolder types. 



ZECHARIAH. 341 

and through the force of broader glimpses into the future, 
than his coadjutor. He incites tlie people to tlie work of re- 
building the Temple by connecting the poor and passing pres- 
ent with the magniticent and enduring future. 

2. With ivhich of the earlier prophets may Zechariah he 
compared ? 

He copies Jeremiah very closely, but approaches in his style 
more nearly that of Ezekiel and Daniel. Like them, he de- 
lights in visions ; like them, he uses symbols and allegories ; 
like them, he beholds angels ministering before Jehovah and 
fulfilling His behests on earth. 

3. How is Zechariah singular among the prophets f 
He is the only one that speaks of Satan (iii. 1, 2). 

4. What are some of Zechariah's symbols ? 

The red horses, four horns, the stone with seven eyes, the 
candlestick of gold, the two olive-trees, the flying roll, the 
ephah and talent of lead, the four chariots from between the 
two mountains, the staves— Beauty and Bands, the cup of 
trembling, the burdensome stone, and the fountain of purifi- 
cation. The wildest of the Arabian Nights contains no de- 
scriptions so unearthly as those in this prophecy. 

5. WTiat is the substance of this prophecy 9 

Eight visions in one night unveil to the prophet God's prov- 
idence and grace towards the Elect Nation ; her foes shall be 
destroyed, her idols removed, her City and Temple restored, 
and her Messiah revealed. If God's promises are to be enjoyed. 
His precepts must be obeyed, the Moral Law outranking the 
Ceremonial. Then Fasts become Feasts. Jehovah is Jealous 
for His people : His jealousy demands their purity and destroys 
their foes. 

6. How does Zechariah stand as a Messianic prophet 9 

Next to Isaiah, Zechariah has the most frequent allusions to 
the coming and character of our Lord, his Book containing six 
specific references to Christ. In iii. 8, vi. 10-15, He is repre- 
sented as a lowly Servant, a Priest and a King, building Jeho- 



342 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

VAH's Temple ; in ix. ;> as the inook and peaooful, but univer- 
sal :Miniaivh (Matt. xxi. 2-9) ; in xi. 12 as the Shepherd betrayed 
for the priee of a shive (Matt. xxvi. 15 and xxvii. 3-10);* iu 
xii. 10 as the Leader to repentanee (^John xix. 84-37, and Bev. 
i. 7) ; and in xiii. 7 as the Fellow of Jehovah smitten by 
Jehovah Himself, at onee the liedeemer and the Pattern of 
his tloek (Malt. xxvi. 31). Besides these, in ii. 10, 11, where 
the Messiah is represented as Jehovah being sent by Jeho- 
vah, there is a remarkable allusion to the Godhood or Deity 
of C'HKiST i^John. i. 14\ 

7. ]V/iaf o(/ur rcfcrcmrs arc fhrrc in t/iL^ prophcof/ fo Gospel 
tinusf 

In iv. H, 7, the ageney and i^oteney of the Holy Spirit are 
set forth ; in xiii. 1 the promulgation of the Gospel and its 
twofold power are symbolieally represented ; while in vi. UV-15 
with xiv. 8, 1), the glory of the Christian ehureii, uniting Jew 
and (ientile, under the Great High-Priest and Ginernor, Jesus 
Ghkist, of Whom Joshua and ZerubbaU'l were types— a Priest 
upon His throne exercising dominion over all the earth— is 
clearly predicted. Zeehariah is the prophet of the Advent, 

8. Hoir 7nai/ the coutrnf.< of f/il,< prop/icci/ of Zeehariah be 
diridcd f 

Into four parts :[\) Introductory (i. 1-6) ; (2) Symlwlieal— con- 
taining nine visions (i. 7-vi.) ; (8^ Didactic— concerning Fasts 
(vii., viii.'i: ^4) Prophetic— the prophetic prospect (ix.-xiv.). 

9. }\7iaf U remarkable about this Book? 

The grt\it ditferencv of style and subject-matter l>etween its 
two great parts. This peculiarity in Zeehariah is as marked 
as that in Isaiah, and has led critics to assign the two parts to 
entirely ditlerent authors and jH^rimls- the first part (i.-viii.) 
iHMUg reganied as genuine, antl the second (ix.-xiv.) the work 
of Jeremiah. Able critics, however, maintain that the whole 
is the work o[' the prophet whose name it bears. 

10. ]]7iat is the (/rand central thought of Ztchariah's propheci/ f 

That the Lord Jesus Christ, the Priest of the World and 
the King of Meii, is the Builder of the Temple, and also the 
Bearer o^ the Glorv. 



MALAOIII. 343 

MALACHI. 

1. What do we know of Malachi personally 9 

Nothing whatever. Even liis name is by no means certain, 
it being doubted whether Malaehi is a proper name or only an 
app(>lhitive — the designation of liis otfice— tlie meaning of the 
word being "My Messenger," tliat is, Malaelii, the Messenger 
of Jehovah. 

2. What peculiar intereHt aitachee to Malaehi as a Book of 
Scripture f 

It is the last of the prophets, and is therefore called " the 
seal," as it is the closing Book of the Old Testament Canon. 
It is the transition-link between the two great Dispensations, 
through which we find sounding voices of the past and voices 
of the future— the knell of the departing and the chimes of 
the coming age. 

3. Besides its position, what features of the Book itself give 
to it a special attraction and interest f 

It is the farewell of Prophecy, like that of a faithful depart- 
ing minister, embracing and summing up his duties. Thus 
viewed, the stern vigor of its reproofs, the ^'earning tender- 
ness of its appeals, and the sublime sweep of its predictions, 
combine to give it an intrinsic interest of the profoundest 
character. Resigning its charge to the personal precursor of 
Christ, in this closing book. Prophecy expires with the Gos- 
pel on its tongue. 

4. Is there any special interest attaching to the 2^<^^sonal his- 
tory of the prophet ? 

Yes ; he appears before us with some of the vague mystery 
as well as the stern vehemence of Elijah the Tishbite ; de- 
livers liis message with an indignant earnestness, reproves the 
Pharisaic wickedness of the present, jwints forward to the 
glorious yet dreadful future, and disappears as suddenly as he 
came ; while we know not whence he comes or whither he goes. 

5. How may the difference between the mission of Malaehi 
and that of Haggai and Zecharlah be stated f 

The latter two were connnissioned to reprove the people for 
delaying to build the Temple; while Malaehi was sent to 



344 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

reprove thera for the Neglect of it when it was built, and for the 
profanation of its service. Haggai and Zechariah, therefore, 
were Restorers ; Malachi was a Reformer. 

6. In what form is the prophecy of Malachi cast? 

That of a dialogue : the prophet's rebukes are met by re- 
joinders, which only call forth more scathing reproofs. 

7. What is the sad key-note of this prophecy ? 

Robbery. Idolatry had disappeared, but Formality had 
taken its place. The people withheld Jehovah's dues alto- 
gether, or only nominally paid their holy oblations with worth- 
less offerings. Besides Robbery of GoD there was also Robbery 
of the Poor, and the prophet with a scourge not of small cords 
lashes both priests and people. 

8. How may the coyifents of this prophecy be divided f 

Taking Jehovah in His various relations to mankind, as 
the theme of the Book, it may be divided into three sections : 

(1) as the loving Father and Ruler of His people (i.-ii. 1-9) ; 

(2) as the supreme God and Father of all (ii. 10-16) ; (3) as 
their righteous and final Judge (ii. 17-end). According to the 
topics treated, it falls into six sections. 

9. With what word does the Old Testam^ent Canon close f 

"Curse." The voice of Malachi is the voice of thunder. 
His pages seem to stir as with a furious wind, and the word 
" curse," echoing down to the very roots of Calvary, closes tlie 
record. 

10. How do the various prophets picture the Christ f 

David in the Psalms presents Him as a royal Priest ; Isaiah, 
as the obedient Servant, the suffering Saviour, the reigning 
Conqueror ; Ezekiel, as the ideal Priest of an ideal Temple ; 
Daniel, as the Prince cut off without throne, people, or king- 
dom, but standing up at last on the ruins of the colossal World- 
Power. Zechariah presents Him in all three offices — Prophet, 
Priest, and King; and Malachi closes up the Canon with refer- 
ences to His First and Second Advents. 



THE NEXUS. 345 



THE NEXUS. 

1. How long a time elapsed between the close of the Old and 
the opening of the New Testament Canon f 

Between Malachi, the last prophet of the Old, and John the 
Baptist, the herald of the New Testament, about 400 years. 

2. What was the political status of the Jews during the inter- 
regnum ? 

Their history during this time may be divided into four 
periods: (1) the Persian Period (436-330 B.C.) — for a hundred 
years subsequent to the time of Nehemiah-Malachi the Jews 
continued subject to the Persian monarchs ; (2) the Greek 
Period (330-166 B.C.) — during which the Jews were first under 
the direct rule of Alexander the Great — 10 years ; next under 
the Ptolemies, the Greek kings of Egypt — 113 years; and, 
third, under the Seleucidse, the Greek kings of Syria — 32 
years; (3) the Maccabean Period (B.C. 166-40)— during which, 
under the heroic lead of the Asmoneans, or Maccabean princes, 
the Jews achieved their independence as a state — 122 j^ears ; 
(4) the Roman Period (B.C. 40) — during which Rome gained 
the supremacy in Palestine, and under whose dominion the 
Jews were when the Saviour of the World appeared. 

3. What important events of a religious character took place 
during this post-Exile period ? 

The collection of the Sacred Writings and the completion of 
the Old Testament Canon — with the exception of perhaps a 
few Books — by Ezra-Nehemiah, and the translation of the 
Writings so collected — the Hebrew Scriptures — into Greek — 
called the Septuagint — for the benefit of the Greek-speaking 
Jews of the Dispersion, who had now ceased to speak the 
mother tongue entirely, the ancient Hebrew even in Palestine 
being now a dead language, and the Aramaic being used in- 
stead. 

4. WTiat new institutions grew out of the Captivity ? 

The Synagogue, the local religious meeting-house of the Jews, 
and the Order of Scribes ; of both of which Ezra was the 
founder, even as Samuel had been the father both of the Order 



346 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

and of the Schools of the Prophets. Both these institutions— 
those of the Prophet and of tlie Scribe— exercised a powerful 
influence, in their season, on the character and destiny of the 
Hebrew people. 

5. What gave rise to the Order of Scribes ? 

The substitution of the Written Scriptures for the Living 
Prophet, whose voice was no longer heard among the people. 
The Scribes w^ere the custodians and expounders of the Scrip- 
tures ; hence they were called lawyers and doctors of the law. 
The Sacred Books assumed an importance now that they never 
had before, being regarded, indeed, with a superstitious rever- 
ence that was wellnigh idolatrous. 

6. How did the moral and religious life of the Jews manifest 
itself towards the close of the Old Dispensation ? 

In Ritualism or Phariseeism ; in Rationalism or Sadducee- 
ism ; and in the Monasticism, or Asceticism of the Essenes. 

7. Who were the Samaritans ? 

The mongrel population of Samaria (2 Kings xi.) who adopted 
tlie Jewish faith. They erected oh Mount Gerizim an inde- 
pendent Temple, and established w'hat they deemed a more 
orderly observance of the Mosaic law. Their faith and prac- 
tice were founded on the Pentateuch alone, and rejected the 
whole of the other inspired writings. Between the Jews and 
the Samaritans the enmity was very great (John iv. 9). 

8. What was the moral and religious condition of the world at 
the time of the Advent of the Lordf 

Absolute helplessness, if not hopelessness. Every conceiv- 
able method of redeeming the race had proved a failure. Ori- 
entalism, Hellenism, and Imperialism — the luxury of the 
Oriental, the culture of the Greek, and the power of Rome — 
all had demonstrated their helplessness. Judaism had become 
effete, and human nature had exhausted itself in the efforts of 
the Gentile w^orld to solv^e the problem of man's elevation and 
salvation. And so it came about that there was going up from 
all the world a wail for deliverance when the Divine Deliverer 
appeared. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 347 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

1. What is the New Testament f 

It is the second grand division of the Bible. Like the Old 
Testament, it is, as a whole, a grand poem — the Od^'ssey to that 
Iliad. 

2. Of what is the New Testament composed ? 

Like the Old Testament, which is not so much one book as 
a library of thirty-nine books, the New Testament is a little 
library of twenty-seven books, or distinct literary compositions 
called Books. 

3. By whom were these Books written f 

They are ascribed to at least Eight different authors : thirteen 
to Paul ; live to John, the Beloved Disciple ; two to Peter ; two 
to Luke ; and one each to Matthew, Mark, James, and Jude. 
The authorship of the Hebrews is in dispute, but is commonly 
ascribed to Paul. 

4. What were the qualifications of these men for their work? 

Tliey were all either Apostles of our Lord, or men closely 
associated with them, acting under their superintendence and 
reflecting their thought — men who had received a special train- 
ing for their work and a definite commission to bear witness 
of their Master, to tell the storj- of His life and deatli, and to 
build up His kingdom in the world. 

5. When ivere these Books written f 

During the last half of the first century of the Christian 
era. In this respect the New Testament differs widely from 
the Old, the production of which covered a period of at least 
1500 years. Thus the Bible is a Temple which occupied longer 
in construction than any work of man, covering a period from 
its foundation in Moses till its completion in John, of 2000 
years, including, of course, the 400 years between Malachi and 
Matthew, when no stone was added to the structure. 



348 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

6. Does the New Dispensation— Christianity— differ essentially 
from the Old — Mosaism or Judaism f 

No ; at bottom they are one and the same thing, being but 
different modes of making known and applying the same 
Grace of Salvation— the Philanthropy of God— to mankind. 
The New is but the evolution of the Old. Christianity is not 
a new system of truths, but a higher development of existing 
forces, the spiritual renovation of the old economy— the fulfil- 
ment of Mosaism or, as it is commonly called, Judaism. 

7. WJiat is the central jyrineiple of the two Disi^ensations f 

That of the Old is: "Fear God and keep His command- 
ments; for this is the whole Duty of man" (Eccl. xii. 13); 
wliile that of the New is this: "Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ and thou Shalt be Saved" (Acts xii. 31). Righteous- 
ness—Faith. 

8. What is the classification of the Books of the New Testa- 
ment ? 

Like the Old Testament, they are commonly arranged under 
four heads: The Gospels, tlie Acts, the Epistles, and Revela- 
tion ; tliough amore suggestive classification would be a three- 
fold one : Historical— the Gospels and the Acts ; Didactic— the 
Epistles ; and Apocalyptic— the Revelation. 

9. How are the Books of the New Testament arranged in the 
Canon f 

Not Clironologically or according to the order of their pro- 
duction, but Didactically according to their progress in doc- 
trine and ai)i)licati()n of trutli. Tlius truths found in germ in 
the Gospels are historically illustrated in the Acts, doctrinally 
unfolded and api)lied in the Epistles, and symbolically pre- 
sented in the Apocalypse, which roofs and domes, covers and 
crowns the whole structure. 

10. What are the names of the New Testament Books? 

The Historical Books— Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the 
Acts; the Didactic or Epistolary— Romans, the Corinthian 
double, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, the 
Thessalonian double ; the tw^o letters to Timothy, and one each 

■ . \ 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 349 

to Titus and Philemon ; tlie Hebrews, the letter of James, the 
two of Peter, the three of John, and the one of Jude ; and the 
Apocalyptic — Revelation, the one great prophetical Book of 
the New Testament, of which John is also the author. 

11. We?'e these Books written with a view to their preservation 
as part of our Sacred volume ? 

It does not so appear. Whatever may have been the thought 
of the Evangelists as to this matter, it is plain that, as regards 
the Epistles, they were Vv^ritten on special occasions, for a spe- 
cial purpose, to a particular person or people, without any ref- 
erence to their permanent place in the Canon of Holy Scripture. 
It may be, therefore, that even these inspired penmen builded 
better than they knew, not dreaming that, in meeting exist- 
ing emergencies, they were contributing to that volume of Sa- 
cred Scriptures which was to be the inspired directory of the 
Church for all future ages. 

12. What is the theme of the New Testaments 

The Christian Church : (1) Its Founder— the Gospels ; (2) its 
Foundation — the Acts ; (3) its Edification — the E^Distles ; and 
(4) its Future — the Revelation. 

13. In what language luas the New Testament originally 
written ? 

Greek — the universal language of the civilized world ; while 
the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, tlie peculiar dialect 
of the chosen race. This empliasizes, as well as anything can, 
the universal character of the New Dispensation. 

^' • '■ ;^ 



y 



350 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE FOUR GOSPELS. 

1 . What are the Gospels f 

They are the Fourfold Story of the Life of that Supreme 
MaD, that marvellous Personality in Whom the histories, the 
prophecies, the liturgies of the Old Testament are fulfilled, 
and from Whose inconspicuous Advent the new ages of Lib- 
erty, of Discovery, and of Progress, date their birth — Jesus the 
Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Saviour of the 
World— the Realized Ideal of Humanity. 

2. What is the grand purpose of this fourfold story f 

To give us, not a complete biography or history of our 
Lord, but such a perfect portraiture of the Man Christ Jesus, 
that all may see and know Him as He really was in the 
world. This fact borne in mind will serve to account for the 
otherwise perplexing and inexplicable phenomena the record 
presents. 

3. What is the import of the titles of these Gospels respec- 
tively ? 

They are no part of the original autographs, but simply the 
inscription of the ancient Church, that the Gospels were each 
written by the persons whose names they bear. It is not the 
Gospel of Matthew, Mark, etc., as though each of the Evan- 
gelists were the autlior of au independent Gospel ; but the 
Gospel according to — the version of it as given by — Matthew, 
etc. ; so that we have not four different Gospels, but a fourfold 
representation of the One Gospel of Christ— four Gospels but 
One Glorious Evangel. 

4. Why this quadriform or fourfold Gospel f 

Variety was necessary to the completeness of the portraiture ; 
while in its adaptation to the wants of universal humanity, 
the Gospel stands " four-square" with a face fronting each 
side of the spiritual world — Matthew writing his Gospel with 
reference to the Jew, the man of Covenant and Prophecy ; 
Mark his to the Roman, the man of Power ; Luke his to the 



THE FOUR GOSPELS. 351 

Greek, the man of Culture ; and John his for Christians of all 
nationalities, to supplement and complement the other Gospels, 
in order to complete the portraiture of Jesus as the Son of 
God and Saviour of mankind. 

5. What is the natural history of these Gospels ? 

In so far as they reproduce or report the words of our Lord, 
they are a translation of those words from the Aramaic or 
Chaldean language in which, there is hardly a doubt, they were 
originally spoken, into the Greek in which they were written by 
the Evangelists ; whose material for their respective Gospels was 
collected from Apostolic and therefore authentic sources, the 
written memorabilia of our Lord at the time extant, and by 
them adjusted and edited, each with a particular end in view, 
and in his own way, as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. 
The story of the Gospel was, however, first spoken before any 
written record was made of it ; not one of the Gospels, in the 
form at least in which we have them, having been penned for 
at least a score of years after our Lord's ascension. 

6. How do the first three Gospels differ from the Fourth? 

The former present the Person and Work of our Lord from 
the outward and earthly side, moving along, as it were, on 
parallel lines, and are therefore called Synoptics ; while the 
latter, the Fourth Gospel, is unique, standing more alone, un- 
like either or all of the others of the sacred quartette, opens 
to us the Heart of Christ, and presents our Lord to us from 
the inward and heavenly side. 

7. How are the Synoptics related to each other ? 

They are not mere repetitions of one narrative, but distinct 
views of a complex whole. They are the same, yet they are 
fresh. The great landmarks of the history are unchanged ; 
the same salient points reappear in all, but they are found in 
new combinations and with new details, as the features of a 
landscape or the outlines of a figure when viewed from various 
points. The Gospels all covering the same ground, bear about 
the same relation to each other, and especially the Fourth to 
the Synoptics, that the Chronicles do to the earlier historical 
Books of the Samuels and the Kings. 



352 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



8. What phenomena do the Synoptics present f 

They are full of breaks, leaps, omissions here, additions there, 
transpositions all the way along, with many variations in mat- 
ters of detail, which, while by no means affecting the sub- 
stance of the record or marring the Divine Portraiture, are an 
endless and often an insoluble perplexity to those who are in 
search of an exact literal harmony. Indeed, while the moral 
unity and spiritual harmony are complete, an exact literal 
harmony is impossible. 

9. What arc the symbols of the Evangelists f 

Matthew, the Ox ; Mark, the Lion ; Luke, the Man ; and 
John, the Eagle ; and are designed to typify the Sacrificial, the 
Active, the Human, and the Spiritual sides of the Gospel, as 
portrayed in this fourfold story of Jesus and His Love. 

10. What is the distinctive idea of each of the four Gospels f 

That of the First is the Messiahship of Jesus— Jesus, the 
King of the Jews ; that of the Second, the Majesty of Jesus- 
Jesus, the Son of God ; that of the Third, the Humanity of 
Jesus— Jesus, the Son of Man ; and that of the Fourth, the 
Godhood of Jesus— Jesus, the Divine Man. 

11. How does this reigning idea show itself especially in the 
opening of each of the four Gospels f 

Matthew connecting the New Testament with the Old, 
Christianity with Judaism, begins with the Genealogy of 
Jesus, which he traces up to Abraliam ; Mark prepares us for 
the approach of the King and Conciueror by causing us to 
hear in trumpet tones the voice of His forerunner and herald ; 
Luke shows the relationship of Christ to our common hu- 
manity by tracing His lineage up to Adam, and giving us in 
detail the Narratives of the Infancy ; while John, rising, eagle- 
like, to the skies, links His humanity with God. 

12. Who were the Evangelists f 

Two of them, the first and the fourth, Matthew and John, 
were members of the College of Apostles ; while the middle 
two, Mark and Luke, were closely allied with and wrote under 
the supervision of Peter and Paul ; and so thoroughly are 



THE POUR GOSPELS. 353 

these two Gospels imbued with the sp'rit and marl?:ed by the 
peculiarities of this Apostolic duet, that they are respectively 
called the Petrine and Pauline Gospels. 

13. Wherein lies the peculiar glory of the Gospel ? 

In that it presents to us a personal Saviour, and the study 
of a personal Saviour as the great instrument of our holiness. 
Religion is not merely the contemplation of truth and the 
practice of morality ; it is fellowship with God tlirough His 
Son. We are to love, not moral beauty only, but Christ ; to 
believe not so much in it^ as in Him. 

14. Could the phenomena of the modern world he accounted 
for without these Gospels'? 

No ; the Gospel has lifted empires from their hinges and 
turned the stream of centuries out of its course. This new 
civilization is as directly traceable to Jesus and Palestine as 
any great river to the springs from which it takes its rise. 
These Gospels wanting, therefore, their place a blank, it would 
be necessary to create other like Gospels, to account for the 
tremendous and beneficent social forces which have produced 
these great results. 

15. Have the genuineness and authenticity of these Gospels 
been assailed f 

Yes ; and with the same virulence and violence as has been 
the Pentateuch ; the object in each instance being to destroy 
the foundations, and so to cause the entire Temple of Holy 
Scripture to tumble in ruin. These foolish critics seem willing 
even to play the Samson and perish in the destruction of 
which themselves are the authors ; but the pillars of the sa- 
cred structure refuse to yield to their puissant efforts. Christ 
never before stood on a firmer pedestal, or sat on a loftier throne, 
or wielded a more powerful sceptre among men, than He does 
to-day ; and at no previous period has the historicity of the 
events narrated in this Fourfold storj^, and the genuineness 
and authenticity of these Sacred Records, been more clearly 
demonstrated or more firmly believed in, than at this hour. 



23 



354 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE FIRST GOSPEL. 

1. Who was the author of the First Gospel f 

All that is with certainty known of this Evangelist can be 
written in a line — told in a sentence. He was a Publican, a 
tax-gatherer, who, according to his own brief account (ix. 9), 
was, at one word from Jesus, transformed from a hated and 
despised collector of Roman imposts to a holy Apostle. In 
the list of the Apostles (x. 3) he simply writes himself down 
as "Matthew the Publican." 

2. What was the significance of the calling of Matthew ? 

It was the knell of caste. By the reception of the Publican 
into His society Jesus proclaimed the fact and established the 
principle, that not social position, but spiritual fitness was the 
sole condition of membership in His kingdom. That day, 
and that act of the greatest of all Reformers, constituted an 
epoch, and marked an era in the history of our race. 

3. What proposition does Matthew set out to demonstrate to 
his countrymen ? 

That Jesus is the Messiah, and that Christianity is the true 
Theocracy, the genuine and orthodox Judaism. 

4. How does the Evangelist prove his proposition f 

He shows by the Genealogy with which he begins his Gospel 
that Jesus, according to the flesh, is the Son of David, and 
therefore Heir to the Jewish Kingdom ; and the son of Abraham, 
and therefore Heir to the Jewish Promise. He places Messianic 
history along-side of Messianic prophecy, saying, as he does, 
the words sounding like a refrain throughout the narrative, 
"That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the pro- 
phet, etc." He dwells at length upon, and gives great promi-, 
nence to, " the Kingdom of Heaven" and the kingly character 
of Christ from His birth to His Transfiguration, which he 
makes the central event in his story, seeing that it unveiled 
the Full Glory of the Messianic King. 

5. JIoiu may this Gospel be variously designated ? 

As it is written especially for the Jews, it may be properly 
called the Hebrew Evangel ; as the history answers to the 



THE FIRST GOSPEL. 355 

prophecy, it may be called the Gospel of Fulfilment ; as it un- 
folds the glory of the true Theocracy, it may be called the 
Gospel of the Kingdom. The two phrases "Kingdom of 
Heaven" and "Kingdom of God" occur together about fifty 
times in the course of the narrative. 

6. What is an outline of the First Gospel 9 

The contents may be divided into five sections : (1) The Ad- 
vent of the Messiah — from the Annunciation and Birth of 
Jesus to His Public Ministry (i.-iv. 12) ; (2) His Public Ministry 
to His Transfiguration— the Public Proclamation of Messiah's 
Kingdom (iv. 13-xvi. 12) ; (3) His Distinct and Public Claim 
of Messiahship — from His Transfiguration to the close of His 
Public Ministry (xvi. 13-xxiii. 39) ; (4) the Sacrifice of the 
Messiah as Priest — the Passion of our Lord (xxiv. 1-xxvii. 
66) ; (5) the triumph of Messiah the Saviour and King — the 
Resurrection and Royal Commission of our Lord (xxviii. 1-20). 

7. How does this First Oospel differ from the others f 

It is peculiarly a Didactic or Teaching Gospel. In it are 
contained Five . great continuous Discourses of the Great 
Prophet of the Kingdom— the Hill Sermon, the Laws of the 
Kingdom (v.-vii.) ; the Missionary charge to the Twelve (x.) ; 
the Parables of the Kingdom (xiii.) ; the Discourses on the 
Church (xvi. 13-xx. 16) ; and the final Eschatological Dis- 
course of the Judgment (xxiv., xxv.) — all dwelling on the 
work of Messiah as Lawgiver, as Judge, as King. Hence this 
Gospel has been called the ultimatum of Jehovah to His 
ancient people : " Recognize Jesus as your Messiah, or accept 
Him as your Judge." 

8. What is an outline of the Sermon on the Mount f 

It may be arranged under four heads : (1) the Citizens of the 
Kingdom (v. 1-16) ; (2) the New Law (v. 17-48) ; (3) the New 
Life (vi.-vii. 23) ; (4) the Great Contrast (vii. 24-27). 

9. Wliat are the names of the four women in the Genealogy 
of Jesus ? 

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba — an incestuous person, 
a harlot, a Moabitess, and an adulteress ! These are the only 



356 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

four women who are known by name from Eve downward to 
Mary, whose blood flowed in Jesus's veins. 

10. How many parables are recorded by Matthew? 

Fifteen — one-half of the whole number of all the parables 
proper. Ten, or two-thirds of the whole number recorded by 
this Evangelist, and one-third of the whole number spoken by 
our Lord, are peculiar to this First Gospel. 

11. What arc the parables peculiar to Matthew ? 

The Tares (xiii. 24-30, 36-43) ; the Hid Treasure (xiii. 44-46) ; 
the Pearl of Great Price (xiii. 45, 46) ; the Draw-net (xiii. 
47-50) ; the Unmerciful Servaut (xviii. 23-35) ; the Vineyard 
Laborers (xx. 1-19) ; the Two Sons (xxi. 28-32) ; the Prince's 
Marriage (xxii. 1-14) ; the Ten Virgins (xxv. 1-13) ; and the 
Talents (xxv. 14-30). 

12. What are the five parables common to other Oosj^els ? 

The Sower (xiii. 1-23) ; the Mustard Seed (xiii. 31, 32) ; the 
Leaven (xiii. 33) ; the Lost Sheep (xviii. 7-14) ; and the Wicked 
Husbandmen (xxi. 33-46). 

13. How many miracles are recorded in Matthew f 

Twenty specific miracles, only three of which are peculiar to 
tliis Gospel — the healing of the two blind men (ix. 27-31) ; and 
of the dumb demoniac (ix. 32, 33) ; and the finding of the stater 
in the fish's mouth (xvii. 24-27). Besides these specific mira- 
cles, there are seven instances of miscellaneous healing (iv. 
23, 24 ; viii. 16, 17 ; ix. 35 ; xiv. 34-36 ; xv. 29-31 ; xix. 1, 2 ; xxi. 
4). Of the twenty specific miracles, ^ye were cases of exor- 
cism — the casting out of evil spirits. 

14. What are the non-Matthcan 7niracles in Matthew ? 

The healing of the leper, the centurion's servant, Peter's 
wife's mother, the stilling of the storm, and the healing of 
Gadarene demoniacs — all in viii. ; the healing of the paralytic, 
of the woman witli the issue, the raising of Jairus's daughter — 
in ix. ; the healing of the man with the withered hand, and 
of the blind and dumb demoniac (xii. 22-24) ; the feeding five 
thousand (xiv. 15-21) ; Christ and Peter walking on the water 
(xiv. 22-36) ; the healing of the daughter of the woman of 



THE FIRST GOSPEL. 357 

Canaan, and the feeding of four thousand (xv. 21-38) ; the 
transfiguration, and the healing of the lunatic (xvii.) ; the heal- 
ing of the two blind men (xx, 30-34) ; the cursing of tlie barren 
fig-tree (xxi. 17-22). 

15. What other miracles are recorded in Matthew f 

The occurrences at the Crucifixion : the noonday darkness, 
the rending of the veil of the Temple, tlie rending roclis, 
tlie opening graves, and the resurrection of the saints (xxvii. 
45-54). 

16. What 2^ctssages are iieeuliar to this Gospel? 

The star and the Magi, the slaughter of the innocents, and 
the flight into Egypt (ii.) ; the parable of the Ten Virgins 
(xxv.) ; the dream of Pilate's wife (xxvii. 19) ; the resurrection 
of the saints during the Crucifixion (xxvii. 52, 53), and the 
bribing of the Roman guard (xxviii. 11-15). 

17. What is the most aivful chapter in Matthew ? 

The xxiii., which contains our Lord's Great Malediction — 
the denunciation of tlie Jewish Hierarchy, the Scribes and 
Pharisees — if indeed these eight "woes" are not rather to be 
regarded as exclamations of pity. At any rate, it ends, like a 
thunder-storm, in a shower of tears (37). 

18. What passages in the First Oospel especially illustrate the 
tenderness and benevolence of our Lord ? 

The gracious invitation of xi. 28-30, and the apostrophe to 
Jerusalem of xxiii. 37. Besides these special passages, the same 
traits of cliaracter are illustrated in His use of parables, which 
are the paintings with which our Lord has adorned tlie walls 
of His spiritual Temple, with the view of arresting the wander- 
ing eye and to please while He instructs. 

19. What are the most drainatic scenes in the Life of Jesus ? 

His Baptism (iii. 13-17) ; His Temptation (iv. 1-11) ; His 
Transfiguration Cxvii.) ; His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem 
(xxi. 1-lG) ; His Gethsemane Experiences (xxvi. 36-56) ; and 
His Crucifixion (xxvii.). 



358 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

20. What are the atrocities in Matthew 7 

The slaughter of the innocents (ii. 16-18) ; the beheading of 
the Baptist (xiv. 1-12) ; the treason of Judas (xxvi. 47-50) ; 
the maltreatment of Jesus (xxvi. 66, 67 ; xxvii. 26-30) ; the 
choice of Barabbas (xxvii. 20) ; and, to crown all, the Crucifix- 
ion — the judicial murder of the Son of God (xxvii.). 

21. What are the sweetest pictorial scenes In Matthew f 

Christ blessing little children (xix. 13-15) ; the object les- 
son in humility (xviii. 1-6) ; the anointing at Bethany (xxvi. 
1-13) ; and the Lord's Supper (xxvi. 17-30). 

22. Wfiat are the saddest things in Matthew ? 

Rachel weeping for her children (ii. 16-18) ; the imprison- 
ment of the Baptist (iv. 12); the murderous machinations of 
the hierarchy (xii. 14) ; the fall of Peter (xxvi. 57-75) ; the 
Marys at the Cross (xxvi. 55,56) ; the burial of Jesus (xxvi. 
57-61) ; and the base conduct of the Roman soldiers (xxviii. 
15). 

23. ^V^lat are the best known passages in Matthew ? 

The Beatitudes (v. 1-12) ; the Parable of the Ten Virgins, 
and the dramatic and sublime description of the Last Judg- 
ment (xxv. 1-13 and 31-40). 

24. How many of the sayings on the Cross are recorded in the 
First Oospel f 

Only one — "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" (xxvii. 46). 

25. Of the Ten Apiiearances of our Lord after His resurrec- 
tion^ how many does Matthew mention ? 

Only two — to the Marys and to the Eleven in Galilee (xxviii. 

9-20). 

26. What is the conclusion of Matthew? 

The Ro3"al Commission of the Risen Redeemer for the Evan- 
gelization of the World, witli the assurance of His presence and 
co-operation until the event shall be accomplished (xxviii. 19, 
20). 



THE SECOND GOSPEL. 359 



THE SECOND GOSPEL. 

1. What is (he distinguishing feature of this Gospel f 

It is a narrative of incidents and anecdotes illustrative of the 
majesty and might of Jesus the Son of God. It is a record 
of the deeds rather than of tlie words of Jesus ; of the mighty 
achievements rather than of the doctrines of the Founder of 
the 'New Kingdom. It is the Gospel of the Mighty Works of 
Christ (Acts x. 38). 

2. What is the Key to this Second Gospel f 

Power. Written primarily for the Roman, the man of power, 
the evangelist presents Jesus to him as the Man of Power, and 
His kingdom as the real realm of Power. From beginning to 
end of his graphic recital, Jesus is seem with leonine leaps to 
bound from one conquest to another greater and more start- 
ling, displaying on all occasions a heroism truly Divine. He 
shows Jesus to be both King and Conqueror — the Omnipo- 
tent Lord of the Living World. 

3. How does the Second Gospel compare with the other 
Synoptics as to style ? 

Brevity, simplicitj'^, and conciseness are distinguishing traits 
of Mark's portraiture of Jesus. His descriptions are much 
more graphic than those of Matthew or Luke. In many in- 
stances where the same events are related by Matthew and 
Mark, the latter fills up the outline of the former by a single 
stroke of his pencil, giving greater distinctness to the picture 
(v. 22-43 ; ix. 14-29 ; Matt. ix. 18-26 ; xvii. 14-21). 

4. How may this Second Gospel he divided ? 

Into six parts : (1) The grand preparation for Messiah and 
His work (i. 1-13) ; (2) Jesus proving Himself Messiah by His 
works (i. 14-viii. 26) ; (3) Jesus as the recognized Messiah 
— from the great Confession to the royal entry into Jerusalem 
(viii. 27-xi. 11) ; (4) Passion week or the Self-Sacrifice of 
Messiah (xi. 12-xv.) ; (5) the Resurrection — the glorious 
triumph of Messiah (xvi. 1-19) ; (6) the Jubilant Conclusion 
(xvi. 20). 



360 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

5. W7iat is the key-word of the Second Gospel f 

Straightway. The word so translated in our English Vul- 
gate — the Bible in common use — occurs in the Gree^i forty-five 
times. It is translated "straightway" twenty fi,ve VuweSy ^^'un- 
mediately^^ fifteen times, and " forthwith" ^<'C times. In the 
Revised Version the word is uniformly translated "straight- 
way," as it should be. 

6. Hotv many miracles are recorded in Mark f 

Eighteen — all giving astonishing displays of Power, and so 
characteristic of this Gospel : the unclean spirit cast out, the 
fever healed, and the leper cleansed (i.) ; the palsy healed (ii. 
1-12) ; tlie withered hand restored (iii. 1-12) ; the tempest stilled 
(iv. 35-41) ; the legion cast out, the w^oman with the issue healed, 
and Jairus's daughter raised (v.) ; the five thousand fed, and the 
walking on the water (vi.) ; the Syrophenician's daughter 
healed, and also the deaf and duml) vii.) ; the four thousand 
fed, and the blind man healed (viii.) ; the deaf and dumb 
spirit cast out (ix. 14-29) ; blind Bartimeus receives his sight 
(x. 26-52) ; the fig-tree cursed (xi. 20). Besides these eighteen, 
tliere are four instances of miscellaneous healing (i. 32-34; iii. 
9-12 ; vi. 54-56 ; vii. 37), Of tlie eighteen, but two are peculiar 
to the Second Gospel— the healing of the deaf and dumb man 
of vii. and the blind man of viii. In addition to the miracles 
of our Lord, the Apostolic missionaries also in His Name per- 
formed also mighty works (vi. 13). 

7. How many parables docs Mark record? 

Only four : The sower, the seed growing secretly, and the 
mustard seed in iv. ; the wicked husbandmen (xii. 1-12). Of 
these only one— the seed growing secretly — is peculiar to Mark. 

8. Whatjncture does Mark^s Gospel leave upon the mind? 

That of Christ in His sovereign power battling with evil 
among men, swayed to and fro by tumultuous and conflicting 
passions. This grand impression is produced by a series of 
pictures, essentially a transcript from life, each perfect in 
itself. 

9. ^Vhat incident omitted by Matthew is reported by Mark ? 
That about the widow's mite (xii. 41-44). 



THE SECOND GOSPEL. 361 

10. What is the central scene in this Second Gospel ? 

The Transfiguration, even as in the First Gospel ; with this 
characteristic difference, however, that while Matthew empha- 
sizes it as the revelation of the Majesty of the King and glory 
of the Kingdom, Mark adds "with power" (Cf. ix. 1 with 
Matt. xvi. 28). After that revelation of the Divine Power of 
Christ, miracles fall into the bacliground, only three being 
recorded . 

11. JTow does the Second GosjdcI compare in length with the 
others ? 

It is the shortest of all. It is an abridged Life of Christ, 
shortened both by apheresis, syncope, and apocapation ; giving 
no genealogy or account of His Birtli, eliminating its didactic 
features, and abbreviating also the details of His Passion and 
Resurrection. It is simpl^^ a Gospel of Action — the Roman 
Evangel — the business man's Gospel. 

12. How many of the seven luords on the Cross does Mark 
record f 

Only one, but that one characteristic of his Gospel — the 
mysterious cry of our Lord when nearing the end of His Pas- 
sion (xv. 34)— "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?" 

13. Of our Lord^s appearances after His resurrection, how 
m^any are to be found in this Second Oospel? 

Three — that to Mary Magdalene, to the Two on their way to 
Emmaus, and to the Eleven (xvi. 9-18). 

14. What is the motto of the Second Qospel'f 

The words of Peter to Cornelius the Roman Centurion 
(Acts X. 38) — He went about doing good ! 



362 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE THIRD GOSPEL. 

1. WTiat is Luke among the Evangelists? 

He is the Historian of the sacred quartet — pre-eminently so. 
The very opposite of Marlv, in pursuance of the course he pre- 
scribes for himself in his Prologue (i. 1-4), he gives in orderly 
and logical sequence, with Fulness, Accuracy, and Continuity, 
the beginning, middle, and end of our Lord's Life among men. 

2. What is the theme of the TJiird Gospel? 

The Manhood of Jesus— the True Humanity of the Sou of 
God. Unlike Matthew, the Hebrew Evangelist, who only 
traces the lineage of Jesus back to Abraham, Luke runs his 
genealogy bej'ond David and Abraham up to Adam (iii. 23-38), 
arid thus presents Him to the world not as the Jewish Messiah, 
but as the Son of Man, the Saviour of the World. Hence, too, 
every stage in the development of Christ's veritable humanity 
is carefully recorded — the Conception, the Birth, the Babe, the 
Child, the Youth, the Man (i.-iv.). All of the author's ma- 
terials, moreover, miracles and parables, are selected with 
reference to his ruling thought, and are therefore not, like 
those of the First Gospel, " parables of the Kingdom" mainly, 
but such as touch the heart of universal humanity. 

3. For whom, ivas this Gospel prim,arily written ? 

For the Greeks as representing the whole Gentile world — 
the Pagan nations of the Earth. Jesus is herein presented as 
the Universal Man in His relations to man universal. He is 
shown to be the true Incarnation — a real God in the likeness 
of men (Acts xiv. 11)— a Son of Man who is also a Son of God 
— a Deity whom all men may worship without being guilty of 
idolatry. Luke presents Jesus as "a Light to lighten the 
Gentiles," even as Matthew (ii. 32) has shown Him to be " the 
Glory of His people Israel." 

4. What was the aim, of the Evangelist historian f 

To furnish to the world an intelligible explanation of Chris- 
tianity, the new religion which had become such a mighty 



THE THIRD GOSPEL. 363 

factor in the world's progress, and which had effected such a 
powerful moral revolution throughout the whole Roman em- 
pire. Hence the work begun at Bethlehem is traced to its cli- 
max both in its internal development and external emancipa- 
tion. Jesus is born Messiah of the Jews, Dies for all the 
World, and Reigns King of the Universe. 

5. What is the theology of the Third Gospel ? 

It is distinctively Pauline ; that is, it is catholic or universal 
in its spirit, as opposed to Jev/ish exclusiveness and particular- 
ism. It is the Gospel of Free Grace— a Gospel not national 
or racial, or regal, but universal and human. It is the Gospel 
cleansed from the leprosy of castes and the blindness of limita- 
tions ; it is the Gospel for sinners, for Samaritans, for Gentiles 
— it is Christianity for Man ! 

6. How does the third Gospel compare with the others as to 
Fulness ? 

It is the longest of the four ; while of the entire contents of 
the three Synoptics more than £i fourth of the whole materials 
— a hundred passages — are peculiar to Luke. 

7. What are the chief singularia \j\\.q^— passages peculiar to 
Luke ? 

The narratives of the Infancy (i., ii.) ; those of the raising 
of the son of the widow of Nain, and of the "woman who 
was a sinner" in the house of Simon the Pharisee (vii. 11-50) ; 
of the entertainment at the house of Martha and Mary (x. 38- 
42) ; of Zaccheus, and of the tears of Jesus over Jerusalem (xix. 
1-8, 41) ; the parables of the Good Samaritan (x. 25-37) ; the 
immortal triad of xv. — ^the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, the 
Lost Son ; the unjust Steward, and the Rich Man and Lazarus 
of xvi. ; the Unjust Judge, and the Pharisee and the Publican 
(xviii. 1-14) ; the address of Jesus to the daughters of Jeru- 
salem who followed in His train to Calvary (xxiii. 27-31); 
His prayer for His executioners (xxiii. 34) ; His conversation 
with the thief on the cross (xxiii. 39-43) ; and with the two 
disciples on the way to Emmaus (xxiv. 13-31) ; and the account 
of the Ascension (xxiv. 50-52) ;— all of which rich collection of 
matter is peculiar to Luke alone. 



^^"^ THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

8. Hoiv man?/ miracles are recorded in Luke ? 

Twenty— the same number as Matthew, and two more than 
Mark ; besides two instances of miscellaneous healino- fiv 40 
41 ; vi. 17-19). "= ^ • ' 

9. How many miracles are peculiar to Lukef 

Six : the miraculous draught of fishes (v. 4-11) ; the raisino- 
of the son of the widow of Nain (vii. 11-17) ; the healing o"f 
the woman with a spirit of infirmity (xiii. 11-17) ; and of' the 
man with the dropsy (xiv. 1-6) ; the cleansing of the ten lepers 
(xvH. 12-19) ; and the healing of Malehus (xxii. 50, 51). 

10. What are the non-Lukean miracles in Luke f 

Fourteen : The unclean spirit cast out, and Peter's wife's 
mother healed (iv. 38-39) ; the leper cleansed, and the palsy 
hraled (v. 12-2()) ; the withered hand restored (vi. 6-11); the 
centurion's servant healed (vii. 2-10) ; the storm stilled', the 
Gadarene demoniac cured, tlie woman with the issue healed, 
and Jairus's daughter raised (viii. 22-56) ; the five thousand 
fed and the lunatic healed (Ix. 10-17, 37-42) ; the dumb demon 
cast out (xi. 14-26) ; and the blind man restored (xviii. 35-43). 

11. What miracles recorded by Matthew and Mark are omit- 
ted by lAike f 

The walking on the sea, the healing of the Syrophenician's 
daughter, the feeding of the four thousand, and the cursing 
of tiie barren fig-tree. The omission of the last three is the 
more worthy of notice because they symbolize the call of the 
Gentiles. The character of the Third Gospel, however, is to 
be sought in its general tone; the message which it conveys 
being universal, and not exclusive in any sense. 

12. What other miracles are recorded in Luke besides those 
wrought by our Saviour ? 

Ten : Zechariah smitten with dumbness; the conception of 
John the Baptist and of Jesus ; the return of the power of 
speech to Zechariah (i.) ; the Transfiguration (ix.) ; those 
wrought by the Seventy (x. 17-20) ; the noonday darkness at 
the Crucifixion (xxiii. 44); Christ yielding up His soul 
(xxiii. 46) ; the Resurrection, the holding the eyes of the Em- 



THE THIRD GOSPEL. 365 

maus disciples, and the appearance of Jesus in the midst of 
the Disciples (xxiv. 1-36). 

13. How many Parables does Luke record? 

Twenty — as many parables as miracles. Of this number 
fourteen are peculiar to the Third Gospel. 

14. What are the Lukean parables f 

The Two Debtors (vii. 41^3) ; the Good Samaritan (x. 30-37) 
the Friend at Midnight (xi. 5-8) ; the Rich Fool (xii. 16-21) 
the Barren Fig-tree (xiii. 6-9 ) ; the Great Supper (xiv. 12-24) 
the Lost Coin and the Lost Son (xv. 8-32) ; the Unjust Steward 
and the Rich man and Lazarus (xvi. 1-31) ; the Unprofitable 
Servants (xvii. 7-10) ; the Unjust Judge and the Pharisee and 
the Publican (xviii. 1-14) ; the Talents (xix. 11-27). 

15. What are the non- Lukean parables in Luke ? 

The Sower (viii. 4-15) ; the Mustard Seed and tlie Leaven 
(xiii. 18-21) ; the Lost Sheep (xv. 3-7), and the Wicked Hus- 
bandmen (xx. 9-16). 

16. How many and ivhat are the narrxitives of the Infancy ? 

Seven : (1) Announcement of the Birth of the Baptist (i. 
5-25) ; (2) Announcement of the Birth of Jesus (i. 26-38) ; (3) 
Mary's visit to Elizabetli : (a) the latter's salutation to the 
former, and {b) Mary's response — The Magnificat (i. 39-56) ; 
(4) Birth and circumcision of the Baptist, (a) the naming of 
the child, and (b) the prophecy of his father (i. 57-80) ; (5) the 
Birth of the Saviour : (a) Joseph and Mary at Bethlehem, (b) 
the overture of the angels, (c) the visit of the shepherds 
(ii. 1-20) ; (6) Circumcision and Presentation of Jesus — the 
prophecy of Simeon and Anna (ii. 21-40) ; (7) Jesus in Jerusa- 
lem (ii. 41-52). 

17. What is an outline of the Thii-d Gospel ? 

Its contents are susceptible of division into eight sections : 
(1) the Prologue (i. 1-4) ; (2) the Narratives of the Infancy (i. 
5-ii.) ; (3) the Advent of Jesus as the Messiah (iii.-iv. 13) ; (4) 
the Ministry in Galilee (iv. 14-ix. 50) ; (5) the Journey from 



3G6 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Galilee to Jerusalem (ix. 51-xix. 27) ; (6) the Sojourn at Jeru- 
salem (xix. 28-xxi. 38) ; (7) the Passion (xxii., xxiii.) ; and 
(8) the Resurrection and Ascension (xxiv.). 

18. What ewe some homiletical divisions of Luke f 

1. The Divine Saviour : (1) His origin, advent, and prepara- 
tion for His work (i.-iv. 13) ; (2) His work for the Jewish world 
(iv. 14-ix. 50) ; (3) His work for the Gentile world (ix. 51- 
xviii. 30) ; (4) His sacrifice for all mankind (xviii. 31-xxiii. 
49) ; (5) the Saviour of all nations (xxiii. 50-xxiv.). 

2. '*The Gospel of Paul:" (1) Introduction (i., ii.) ; (2) the 
Preparation (iii.-iv. 13) ; (3) the Announcement (iv. 14-44) ; (4) 
the Future Church (v.-ix. 43 a) ; (5) the Universal Church (ix. 
43 6-xviii. 30) ; (G) the Sovereignty claimed (xviii. 31-xxi.) ; 
(7) the Sovereignty gained by Death (xxii. -xxiv.). 

3. The Ilise and Growth of Christianity during the Lifetime 
of its Founder : (1) Its relation to Judaism — the Old Dispen- 
sation ; (2) the incidents connected with the advent and the 
preparation of Jesus for His work ; (3) its gradual growth in 
the face of the opposition of the leaders of the Dispensation it 
is about to supersede ; (4) its apparent extinction in the igno- 
minious death of its Founder ; (5) its final triumph assured by 
His resurrection and ascension. 

19. What is a distinguishing characteristic of the Third Gos- 
pel? 

Its well-marked historical progression, the author marking 
oflT liis narrative from the beginning by a series of general re- 
marks which serve as resting-places by the way— as summa- 
ries and points of outlook — and which describe at each stage 
the present position of the work (i. 80 ; ii. 40, 52; iii. 18; iv. 
15, 37, 44 ; v. 15, 16 ; viii. 1 ; ix. 51 ; xiii. 22 ; xvii. 11 ; xix. 28, 
47, 48 ; xxi. 37, 38 ; xxiv. 53— a last word which closes the Gos- 
pel and prepares for the Second Volume— the narrative of the 
Acts). Besides, Luke has a way of supplying a motive for an 
incident or a parable which is lacking in the other Evangel- 
ists, and of placing in their true historical setting many inci- 
dents and utterances of Jesus, which Matthew has grouped 
together on the ground of homogeneity — and which in Mark 
are but a series of anecdotes. In all these respects Luke 
ever shows himself the true historian. 



THE THIRD GOSPEL. 367 

20. What is the central chapter of Luke f 

The fifteenth, where, in that immortal triad of parables, 
the Joy over the Lost, found, is so marvellously presented. 

21. By what various titles has it been sought to describe this 
Third Gospel? 

As the Gospel of the Development ; of the Humanity ; of the 
Future ; of Progressive Christianity ; of Free Grace ; the Uni- 
versal Gospel ; the Historical Gospel ; the Gospel for Sinners ; 
the Crown of the Synoptic Gospels, as the symbol of Man 
(Luke) rises above that of the Bullock (Matthew) and of the 
Lion (Mark). As compared with the ruling idea of the others, 
the Third is the Gospel of the Humanity. 

22. How many of the Seven ivords on the Cross does Luke 
record ? 

Three : our Lord's prayer for His enemies (xxiii. 34) ; His 
answer to the prayer of the penitent thief (xxiii. 43) ; and His 
last cry, commending His spirit to God (xxiii. 46). 

23. How many of our Lord's post-resurrection appearances 
does Jjuke give f 

Three : (1) to the two Emmaus disciples (xxiv. 13-31) ; (2) 
to the Ten on the evening of the resurrection day (xxiv. 
36-47) ; (3) to the Eleven just before His Ascension (xxiv. 50-53). 

24. How may this Gospel history be briefly summed up f 

As the Revelation of Divine Mercy— the Manifestation of 
Divine Philanthropy— Divine Compassion stooping to Man. 

25. What issue does criticism make ivith this Gospel f 

That it is not the work of the one whose name it bears ; that 
it is the product of a much later date than that ascribed to it ; 
and that it was composed, not in the service of historical trutli, 
but in the interest of a particular tendency — that of the Chris- 
tianity of Paul, which, it alleges, was entirely different from 
primitive and apostolic Christianity. Ridiculous. 



368 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 

1. Who was the author of this Gospel ? 

John, " the beloved disciple" and bosom friend of our Lord 
— the favored one of the elect Three of the chosen Twelve — 
earliest among those who responded to the call of Jesus and 
last of all evangelical witnesses — outliving all his associates — 
last of the inspired writers — a " Boanerges" — a son of thunder, 
and yet " the Apostle of Love." 

2. What is thought of the Fourth Oospel ? 

The highest eulogiums have been pronounced upon it by the 
most learned and pious men of all the Christian centuries. 
Many have not hesitated to give it not only the first place 
among the Books of the New Testament, but to prefer it to 
any other composition in the Canon of Scripture — the entire 
Bible. If the Gospels are the first fruits of all the Scriptures, 
the Fourth is the first fruit of the Gospels. It is the Holy 
of Holies in the Temple of Truth — the Shekinah — the visible 
manifestation of God. 

3. What are some of the expressions by which the high ap- 
preciation of this Oosp>el is shown f 

It has been called the Golden Gospel — the Spiritual Gospel — 
the Heart of Christ— the Gospel of the Eagle Wing and Eagle 
Eye— the Gospel of Everlasting Life — the Gospel of the World 
— the Gospel of Love, of Life and Light— the Divine Hebrew 
Epic. 

4. What is the distinctive feature of this Oospel f 

It is the Gospel of the Divinity, as Luke is the Gospel of the 
Humanity, as Mark is the Gospel of the Mighty Works, and 
as Matthew is the Gospel of the Kingdom. 

5. How does the Fourth Gospel compare with the other three 
— the Synoptics f 

The Fourth Gospel is wholly unlike its predecessors. While 
the Synoptics bear a striking resemblance to each other, the 
P^ourth Gospel is in strong contrast with the other three. In 



THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 369 

foriQ, language, spirit and substance, this contrast obtains. 
It is like passing from, one world of thought into another to 
leave the Synoptics and enter the realm of the Fourth Gospel. 
It everywhere bears the stamp of independence and individu- 
ality. It is a sacred composition, sui generis^ with character- 
istics in all respects peculiar to itself. The Synoptics are purely 
historical, while this is as purely a spiritual Gospel ; the former 
give us His life as seen from the outside, this reveals to us the 
very heart of Jesus. 

6. What are the literary characteristics of this Gospel ? 

The Fourth Gospel presents the results of the most consum- 
mate art springing from the most perfect simplicity. No 
writing, sacred or profane, combines greater simplicity with 
more profound depths ; and this is alike true of both the lan- 
guage and the composition. In the opening verse of the Gos- 
pel, for instance, we are carried to the most sublime heights, 
and hear the mightiest of all possible declarations made in 
words of the most awful simplicity — only one of which is other 
than a monosyllable. 

7. How does the Fourth Gospel compare with the Synoptics as 
literary compositions ? 

This Gospel is a Divine Hebrew Epic rather than an ordi- 
nary prose composition — a heroic poem in which the achieve- 
ments of the Son of God, as its Hero, are recited in sublime 
and elevated style, as becomes its theme. The other Gospels 
are Memoirs rather than Poems, because they present the life 
of Christ under limited relations, and not chiefly or uniformly 
in relation to the Infinite, as in this narrative. Everything 
here is contemplated in its truly poetic, that is, in its perma- 
nent and typical, aspect. 

8. What are some illustrations of the linguistic features of 
this Gosx)cl f 

The most complete illustration of its characteristic vocabu- 
lary is found in the Prologue. " The Word," " the Life," " the 
Light," "the Darkness," "the Truth," "the World," "Glory," 
"Grace," are terms which at once place us beyond the scene 
of a limited earthly conflict, and raise our thoughts to the un- 
seen and eternal. Yet these words are not mere abstractions, 

24 



370 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

used to express mere speculative or philosophical notions, but 
all of them centre in a Person, and are attributes of that Person. 

9. How does the vocabulary of the body of the Gospel com- 
pare with that of the Prologue f 

Throughout the Gospel, the vocabulary, upon the whole, is 
poor. The same expressions reappear from beginning to end : 
Light, 23 times ; Glory— to be glorified, 42 times ; Life, to live, 
52 times ; to testify, testimony, 47 times ; to know, 55 times ; 
world, 78 times ; work, 23 times ; Name and Truth, each 25 
times ; Sign, 17 times ; to Believe, no less than 98 times. This 
might indeed be called the Key- word of the Gospel, unless we 
substitute that solemn form of asseveration with which the 
Saviour in this Gospel prefaced some saying of more than 
usual weiglit, or which would be likely to encounter a more 
than ordinary amount of prejudice— the double "Amen," that 
is— "Verily, verily,"— which occurs 27 times; or that other 
phrase, "answered and said," which is met with at least 33 
times in the course of the narrative. 

10. What ivords are conspicuous by their absence from this 
Gospel f 

Those four terms, almost classical, of the Christian religion : 
Church, Gospel, Repentance, are not mentioned at all, Grace 
only once, and Faith as a substantive only once. 

11. What is the aim, of the Fourth Gospel f 

Life — Eternal Life. This is the starting-point and the goal 
of, as it furnishes the all-sufficient motive for, this grand com- 
l)osition (xx. 31). This verse is the Key to the Gospel. The 
Incarnation, the Evangelist points out, is the climax of all 
Theophanies and revelations of Jehovah. In Jesus Christ 
the final manifestation has been made. The last word has 
been spoken. There is nothing further, therefore, for every 
man but to accept and Live, or to reject and Perish ! 

12. What is an outline of this Gospel ? 

1. The Prologue or Overture (i. 1-18). 2. The Manifestation 
of the Incarnate God as the Christ to the world : (1) the 
Proclamation (i. 19-iv.), and (2) the Conflict (v.-xii.). 3. The 



THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 371 

Issues of Christ's Manifestation : (1) the Consolation (xiii.- 
xvii,), and (2) the Victory (xviii.-xx.). 4. The Epilogue (xxi.). 

13. WTictt is the relation of the Prologue to the main body of 
the Gospel? 

That of a thesis to its elaboration ; of a proposition to its 
demonstration ; of the overture to the oratorio. It is a forcible 
synthesis freely formulated of the history and teachings in the 
work itself : The Christ— (1) what He was ; (2) what He became ; 
(3) the results of His incarnation. 

14. What heresies respecting the Person of Christ does the 
opening verse of this Gospel confute f 

1. Arianism — which maintains that Jesus Christ was, in 
His pre-existent state, only a creature, a superangelic being, 
the beginning of the creation of God. 2. Sabellianism — which 
holds to the theory that there is but one Divine Being, God 
the Father, and that He, upon occasion, reveals Himself as 
Son and Holy Spirit — which is Swedenborgianism. 3. Tri- 
theism — which teaches that there are three Gods, distinct in 
essence as well as in person. 4. Socinianism or Unitariauism 
— which, denying His Deity, regards our Lord as but a mere 
man. 

15. What philosophical errors does the third opening verse of 
this Gospel confute ? 

1. Atheism — which denies the existence of a Creator. 2. 
Pantheism—which, denying the fact of a personal God, con- 
founds the Creator with creation. 3. Materialism — which also 
denies a personal Creator, and refers all the phenomena of the 
universe to one substance, which is matter. 4. Dualism — 
which recognizes two original and independent creative prin- 
ciples in the universe, the one good and the other evil. 5. 
Evolution — which undertakes to account for the phenomena 
of the universe on the principle of development from a pri- 
mordial substance called protoplasm. 

16. What is meant by the declaration of i. 14 ? 

That Jesus Christ was not man deified, but the Divine One 
humanified. The Logos, the pre-incarnate God, became Jesus 
the Christ, the God-Man. Those four words, "The Word be- 
came flesh," created an epoch. They tell us more, and are of 



372 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

infinitely more value to us, than all the pages and volumes on 
the subject of the Logos Philo and his fellow philosophers ever 
wrote. They summarize and concentrate the inmost meaning 
of the Old Testament revelation and of post-canonical thoughts. 
They are as a flash of the sword of that Word which cleaves 
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit ; a flash which 
dispels a thousand distorting mists, a sword to cleave the knot 
of a thousand difficulties, which the Alexandrian philosophy 
vainly endeavored to cleave or unloose. 

17. Wliy did the Evangelist use the term " Word'^ as descrip- 
tive of the prc-exlstcnt Jesus? 

The Greek term Logos, of which the equivalent in English 
is "Word," was used in the philosophical discussions of the 
time to designate a supposed intermediate being, some minor 
deity, as the link of connection between the finite and the in- 
finite—matter and spirit — God and the world. The Evangel- 
ist, appreciating their guesses at the truth, and sympathizing 
with the longing of their hearts, by way of correcting their 
errors and teaching the true doctrine respecting the Mediator, 
seized upon their own term, and, transferring it to Christ, in 
effect, said to the warring philosophers of his time somewhat 
as Paul had before said to the i)hilosophers at Athens (Actsxvii. 
23) ; " Eureka ! That link of connection between God and man 
of which you are in hopeless search in the region of the idea, 
that Revealer of God you are vainly striving to find in your 
philosophical speculations — that Logos respecting Which you 
are speaking without coming to the true knowledge of Him — 
that question about God you are discussing without being able 
to find an answer — this true celestial Mediator, the real Logos 
and Revealer of God, we Christians have found in the region 
of reality, of history. Listen and believe ! Behold the Man ! 
The ;Man Christ Jesus with AVhom we have lived is the true 
Logos — Deity Incarnate — and in -proof and demonstration of 
the truth of my declaration, I submit to you herewith some 
facts and incidents from the story of His life in the world. 
Read, and then judge for yourselves." 

18. To what is the Logos — " TForcZ" — of John in this Fourth 
Gospel oijposcd ? 

(1) As being Uncreated and Eternal — "In the beginning 
was the Word" — it is opposed to the Gnostic Word, which is 



THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 373 

created and temporal ; (2) as Personal and Divine — " The Word 
was God" — to the Platonic Word, which is ideal and abstract ; 
(3) as a Creative Agency — "All things were made by Him" — 
to the Judaistic and Philonic Word, which is but the type and 
idea of God in creation ; (4) as being Unique and Universally 
Creative — " Without Him was not anything made that hath 
been made" — to the Dualistic Word, which is limitedly and 
partially instrumental in creation ; and (5) as Real and 
Permanent — " The Word became flesh" — to the Docetic Word, 
which is impalpable and visionary. 

19. How docs John differ from the Synoptists in the treatment 
of his great theme ?- 

Unlike his predecessors, instead of tracing the stream to its 
source, the Beloved Disciple starts at the source in the depths 
of unmeasured eternity and the recesses of the nature of God ; 
and then, bringing the First Begotten into the world, traces 
with adoring eye the course of word and deed by which He 
manifested forth His glory. In each Gospel, however, it is the 
same Lord Jesus Christ, as really the Son of Man in the 
Fourth Gospel as in the First, as really the Son of God in the 
First Gospel as in the Fourth. 

20. Hoiu does the Evangelist prove the Divinity of our Lord 9 

He simply submits the history which follows, allowing the 
Words and Works— the character and s^^irit — of Jesus to speak 
for themselves. The life is the proof of the doctrine — the 
Humanity of the Divinity. 

21. Wliat striking proofs of our Lord^s true Humanity does 
the Fourth Gospel afford f 

His Weariness at Jacob's well (iv.), and His Weeping in sym- 
pathy with Martha and Mary (xi.). 

22. What proofs does this Fourth Gospel offer to the true and 
proper Divinity of our Lord f 

As to this, the Fourth is pre-eminently the Gospel of Witness. 
The whole narrative is a tissue woven out of manj" lines of evi- 
dence human and Divine. The various kinds of testimony 
may be reduced to the following order : (1) The declarations of 



374 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

the Prologue (i. 1-14) ; (2) the official testimony of the Baptist 
(i. 19-27, 29-34, 35-37 ; iii. 27-36) ; (3) the testimony of private 
individuals (i. 14 ; xv. 27) ; (4) the testimony of the whole body 
of disciples — the Church (i. 16) ; (5) the testimony of the 
Father (viii. 18 ; xii. 28) ; (6) the testimony of Christ to 
Himself, {a) His Words, and (b) His Works (v. 36 ; viii. 17, 18, 
54-59) ; (7) the witness of the Holy Spirit (xv. 26) ; (8) the 
testimony of Scripture (v. 39-46). 

23. ]\Uiai is the " witness of men^^ in the Fourth Gospel to the 
Divinity of Jesus ? 

Most varied and weighty. Between the Baptist's precious 
testimony with the sweet yet fainter utterances of Andrew, 
Philip, and Nathanael in i., and the perfect creed of Chris- 
tendom condensed into the burning words of Tliomas in xx. 
28—" My Lord and my God" — w^e have the witness of Nicode- 
mus (iii.), of the woman of Samaria (iv. 39-42), of the impotent 
man at the Pool of Bethesda (v. 15), of Peter (vi. 68, 69), of the 
officers of the Jewish authorities (vii. 46), of the man that was 
born blind (ix. 11), and of Pilate (xix. 4, 6). 

24. JIow may the body of the Gospel be divided? 

Into four parts: (1) the introduction to, and public life of, 
our Lord (i. 19-xii.) ; (2) the last days of our Lord with "His 
own" (xiii.-xvii.) ; (3) the history of the Passion (xviii., xix.) ; 
(4) the resurrection and subsequent events (xx., xxi.). 

25. What is the relation of the last Ghap>ter to the ptrevious part 
of the Gospel ? 

By many the Gospel proper is supposed to end with xx., the 
last chapter being written at a later date, and hence is called 
an Appendix or Epilogue. This would make the whole con- 
sist of a Prologue, a History, and an Epilogue. 

26. Hoiv is the story of the woman taken in adidtery (viii. 2- 
11) regarded? 

It is regarded by many critics as an interpolation, and there- 
fore non-authentic ; and it must be admitted that the weight 
of argument seems to be against its genuineness. 



a?HE F0TJUT3 (SOSPEL. 375 

27. In what character is Jesus Jirst presented to us in this 
Fourth Gospel? 

As "the Lamb of God Which taketh away the sin of the 
World" — that is, in His mediatorial office as a Priest — our 
Great High Priest. Herein is taught the great evangelical 
doctrine of Substitution (Cf. i. 29 with Isa. liii.). 

28. H^ow may our Lord's first miracle be regarded ? 

As the key-note of His entire ministry : (1) It was wrought 
at a wedding — the gladsomeness of Christianity ; (2) it was not 
wrought till all supplies were exhausted — Christ does not 
come to us till we feel our need of Him ; (3) He employs human 
agencies — the economy of Divine power — God will not do for 
us what we can do for ourselves ; (4) the best was given last. 

29. Wliat is one of the great constituent parts of the Fourth 
Gospel f 

Its Dialogues in w^hich the Saviour is one interlocutor, as 
with Nicodemus (iii.) and the woman of Samaria (iv.) ; and 
its Monologues, spoken (a) to the hushed hearts of the Disci- 
ples (xiii.-xvi.), or [b) to the listening Heart of the Father, 
yet not in tones so low that the love of *'His Own" did not 
find it audible (xvii.). 

30. WJiat were the leading ideas of our Lord^s conversations 
with Nicodemus and the luoman of Samaria f 

In that with the midnight disciple, as Nicodemus is called, 
it was the Necessity of Regeneration— the New Birth ; and in 
that with tVie woman at Jacob's well it was the same idea, the 
Spirituality of Religion, owly it is here suggested in connection 
with the matter of worship, instead of the entrance into the 
kingdom of God, as with Nicodemus. 

31. WJiat other great truth was revealed by our Lord to the 
Samaritan woman f 

He makes to her a distinct avowal of His Messiahship. Break- 
ing suddenly upon the wayward woman like a sunburst from 
a cloud-rift. He declares, "I that speak unto thee am He !" — 
that is, the Christ (iv. 26). 



376 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

32. How is our Lord^s testimony to Himself arranged in this 
Gospel f 

This testimony consists of Works and Words. The evidence 
from the works is contained in ii.-xii. inclusive. It is, in many- 
cases, accompanied by that of the words, but the works have a 
certain prominence. Beginning, however, with xiii., the evi- 
dence from the words alone is presented. In tliis section of 
the Book, however, we have at last the great miracle of the 
Resurrection, as the final sign. 

33. Is there any difference in the parties addressed in these 

two sections ? 

Yes'; the section in which the ivorks are prominent contains 
the discoursings with the people and the Jewish rulers— with 
unbelievers as well as believers. That in which the words 
alone are brought before us, has relation only to the inmost 
circle of believers (xiii.-xvil.). 

34. WJtat special subject is dwelt upon in the Fourth Gospel 
that is omitted in the Synoptics f 

That about the Holy Spirit. There can be no doubt that 
this is one pre-eminent subject of this Gospel. Indeed, 
teaching about Him above all as the witness to Christ, occu- 
pies three unbroken chapters in one place (Cf. vli. 39 with xiv.- 
xvi. and xx. 22). 

35. What is the theatre of our Lord's Tninistry as given in the 
Fourth Gospel ? 

Judea. In this respect this Gospel differs from the Synop- 
tics, which confine themselves largely with the ministry of 
our Lord in Galilee, and to the details of about one year of 
His work. 

36. What light does this Gospel cast upon the length of our 
Lord^s public m,inistry ? 

The other Evangelists mention our Lord as being present in 
Jerusalem at one Passover only, which, had we no other source 
of information, would lead us to infer that His public ministry 
did not extend over more than a year. John, however, men- 
tions at least three Passovers at which our Lord was present, 
which would admit of His ministry being extended to between 
two and a half and three and a half years. 



THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 377 

37. What proportion of the entire contents of this Gospel are 
2)eculiar to itself f 

Two-thirds of it are new. The following are the most impor- 
tant additions : The miracle at Cana (ii.) ; our Lord's conver- 
sations with Nicodemus (iii.) and the woman of Samaria (iv.) ; 
His discourses with the Pharisees concerning His Divinit.y (v.), 
and concerning Himself as the Bread of Life (vi.) ; His testi- 
mony to His Divinity in viii.-x. ; His conversation with 
Martha and Mary (xi.) ; His farewell discourses with " His 
Own," and His Intercessory Prayer (xiii.-xvii.), and the ac- 
count of His appearance to the Seven at the Sea of Galilee, and 
of the restoration and recommissioning of Peter (xxi.). 

38. JIoiu does the Evangelist always refer to the Baptist? 

Always as plain John, the surname in no case being added. 
Honorary distinctions are unknown to the Scriptures. The 
prefix " Saint" is never applied to any individual in the Word 
of God. This honorary distinction has grown out of ecclesi- 
astical usage, and is more honored in the breach than in the 
observance. There are too many "Saints" in some calendars. 

39. }VJiat is the key-word of our Lord's last discourses with 
His Own? 

Love. The verb and its cognate noun occur in these thirty 
times, and only thirteen times in all the rest of the Gospel. 

40. What is the character of the prayer of xvii. ? 

It is the Intercessory Prayer of our Great High Priest— a 
prayer in which He pleads as if He would save His people by 
that prayer alone. It is a supplication easy in respect of its 
language, and most profound in respect of its thought. It may 
be divided into three parts: (1) that in which He prays for 
Himself— His own glorification (1-5) ; (2) that in which He 
prays for His Own (6-19) ; and (3) that in which He prays for 
all who should afterwards believe on Him— for the Unity of 
the Church and Oneness with Himself (20-26). 

41. What phrases are prominent in the first grand division of 
the narrative ? 

" To have life," etc., occurs in the first twelve chapters thirty 
times, and only six times in the remainder of the Book. This 



378 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

is the section in which Christ manifests Himself to men. In 
this section, and nowhere else, our Lord is also described as the 
Light. 

42. Have we any parables in the Fourth Gospel ? 

No ; the parable in the form of a complete story is entirely 
wanting in this Gospel ; but it is found in a form closely allied 
to this, that of Allegory. The parables of the Leaven and the 
Mustard Seed in the Synoptics have their analogue in the 
pictures of the Door and the Shepherd, and of tlie Vine and 
the Branches in this (x., xv.). These figures are the Parable in 
the germ. 

43. How is the absence of the parable in this Oospel accounted 
forf 

By the difTerent aim of the writer and the purpose this nar- 
rative was designed to subserve. Parables and maxims in 
which the Synoptics abound are best suited for popular teach- 
ing and for lajing the foundations of the Church. Hence, 
these are called the Missionary Gospels. This is the Gospel 
for the Church in its Maturity. 

44. How many miracles does John record f 

Eight only— seven wrought by our Saviour during His pub- 
lic ministry, and one (xxi. 1-8), the miracle of the Risen Lord. 
Of the eight, six are peculiar to the Fourth Gospel, and are as 
follows : the water made wine (ii. 1-11) ; the ruler's son healed 
(iv. 46-54), also the man at Bethesda (v. 1-9) ; and the man 
born blind (ix. 1-7) ; the raising of Lazarus (xi.) ; and the 
miraculous catch (xxi. 1-8). The two in common with the 
Synoptics are : the feeding the five thousand (vi. 5-59) ; and 
the walking on the sea (vi. 15-21). 

45. What are the m,ost remarkable personal interviews re- 
corded in this Oospel f 

Those with Nicodemus (ii.), with the woman of Samaria 
(iv.), and with Martha and Mary (xi.). These contain some of 
the weightiest announcements ever made to the world ; being 
radical, revolutionary, and charged with the dynamics of the 
Gosj^el — full of the wonderful words of life and salvation. 
They are among the royalist " sayings of the King" — the 
Livino: Word. 



THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 379 

46. W7iat special illustration of our Lord's tenderness and 
benevolence as a Teacher is gwen in the Fourth Gos]Del ? 

The washing of His disciples' feet, His valedictory Discourse 
and Intercessory Prayer which followed (xiii.-xvii.). 

47. What familiar figures does our Lord apply to Himself 
and His work^ as recorded in this OospeX ^ 

" I am the Bread of Life ;" "I am the Light of the World ;" 
"The Good Shepherd;" " The Vine ;" "The Door;" "The 
Way, The Truth, The Life"— these are words which have 
guided the thoughts of believers from the first ages. 

48. What is the Golden Text of the Fourth Gosjoel ? 

" God so loved the w^orld, that He gave His only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should 

NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE" (hi. 16). This iS 

the Bible in miniature — the Gospel in a nutshell. 

49. What is the shortest verse in the Fourth Gospel f 

"Jesus wept!" (xi. 35). This is the shortest verse in the 
whole Bible. 

50. Wliat is that 2^cissage in this Gospel by which the future 
triumph of Christianity is assured ? 

" And I, if I be lifted up (on the Cross) from the earth, will 
draw all men unto Me" (xii. 32, 33). 

51. What ivords of Jesus in John are of special comfort to 
the poor and the afflicted f 

That about the many-mansioned house on high (xiv. 1-3). 

52. What passage in this Gospel gives us the clearest revela- 
tion of God ? 

Our Lord's answer to Philip's petition to see God — "He 
that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" — (xiv. 9). 

53. What new commandment is Usued in this Gospel f 
That respecting brotherly love (xiii. 34). 



380 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

54. What great example of humUity is given in this Gospel f 
Christ washing the Disciples' feet (xiii. 1-17). 

55. W/iat great legacy docs Christ leave His people in this 
Gospel f 

Peace (xiv. 27). 

5G. What substitute for His oion presence does our Lord prom- 
ise His Disci^jles in this Gospel f 

Tlie Holy Spirit— the Paraclete— the Comforter (xvi. 7-15). 

57. What prominent events are omitted in the Fourth Gospel f 

Tlie details of the last Passover and the Lord's Supper, 
which are given so fully in the Synoptics, are conspicuous by 
their absence in this Gospel. The Evangelist evidently takes 
it for granted that his readers are familiar with these matters, 
as already related by the Synoptists. 

58. Wh(U particular touching the arrest of Christ in Gcth- 
semane does John give that the Sgiioptists omit ? 

That about the falling upon the ground of the armed band 
that came to arrest Him, on our Lord's announcing to them His 
identity' (xviii. 1-9). 

59. Whdt ])assagc in the trial of Christ before Pilate is pecu- 
liar to this Gospel ? 

That in xviii. 33-38, respecting the pretensions of Jesus and 
the character of His kingdom, ending with Pilate's sceptical 
query, " Wliat is truth?" 

60. What 2^articular about the crucifixion does John record 
that is not mentioned by the Synoptists f 

That about the hastening of His deatii— the breaking of His 
legs and the piercing of His side (xix. 31-36). 

61 . Wtiat post-resurrection occur'rences does John alone relate ? 

The interview between the unbelieving Thomas and the 
Risen Redeemer, which drew from the disciple that innnortal 
Confession of Faith born of deep conviction — "My Lord and 
my God !" — (xx. 24-29) ; and the interview between our Lord 



THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 381 

and Peter on the shore of the Lake, when the fallen apostle 
was reinstated and recommissioned (xxi. 1-24). 

62. What is a distinguishing feature of the Fourth Gospel as 
a literary work f 

Its dramatic vividness and consistency. This is seen in 
three particulars : (1) in the delineation of individual character 
(iii. 24, 25) ; (2) in the appropriateness and consistency of the 
language used by the various persons introduced into the nar- 
rative (Cf. xi. 16 with XX. 24-29) ; and (3) the language of our 
Lord itself, which is always such as we should exj^ect to fall 
from the lips of Him Who spake as no other man ever did. 

63. What is the legitimate inference from these facts f 

That this Gospel is not ideological, as some allege, but his- 
torical ; that it is not fiction, but fact; not romance, but a 
transcript from real life (1 John i. 1). 

64. What great primary pr'inciples of the Faith are brought 
out in the Fourth Gospel f 

Four : (1) that the Son of God has come ; (2) that He is now 
and ever present with His people ; (3) that the Holy Spirit 
gives them a new faculty of spiritual discernment ; (4) that 
Christ is very God and the Life of men (Cf. 1 John v. 20). 

65. What is the Tnost comprehensive view of the Fourth Gos- 
pel f 

That it is the work of John, the Beloved Disciple, and that it 
is the record not only of the Life of Jesus, but also of his own 
life with Jesus. 

66. How many of the Seven Wo7xls on the Cross does John 
record f 

Three : our Lord's address to His mother and John (xix. 26) ; 
His cry, "I thirst" (xix. 28) ; and His last triumphant utter- 
ance, " It is finished" (xix. 30). 

67. How many of our Lord's post-resurrectioii appearances 
does John m-ention f 

Four : To Mary of Magdala (xx. 11-17) ; to the Ten— Thomas 
absent (xx. 19-25) ; to the Eleven — Thomas present (xx. 26-29) ; 
and to the Seven on the shore of the Lake (xxi.). 
« 



382 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

68. How may John be homilctically treated f 

1. The Tragedy of Calvary : (1) The occasion of the colhsion 
(Prologue) ; (2) the mutteriiigs of the coming storm (i. 19-iv.) ; 
(3) the struggle in all its fierceness (v.-xii.) ; (4) the prepara- 
tion for the end (xiii.-xvii.) ; (5) the denouement or issue, (a) 
the catastrophe, (6) the victory (xviii.-xxi.). 2. The Aim of 
the Fourth Gospel— the Soul's New Life : (1) In what it con- 
sists ; (2) on what it is based ; (3) how it is procured ; (4) how 
it manifests itself. 

69. How docs the Fourth Gospel close ? 

With a declaration of the incompleteness of the record, and 
that if all were said that could be said about Jesus, there is no 
end to the books that might be written. What is written, 
however, is enough, and it is true. Let him deny it who can. 



GOSPEL ADDENDA. 

L What lucre our Lord^s sayings on the cross ? 

These were seven, and, in the order of their utterance, are 
as follows : 

1. The prayer for His enemies (Luke xxiii. 34). 

2. The reply to the penitent thief (Luke xxiii. 43). 

3. The disposition of His Mother (John xix. 26, 27). 

4. The mysterious cry (Matt, xxvii. 46 ; Mark x.v. 34). 

5. The exclamation from physical torture (John xix. 28). 

6. The triumphant shout (John xix. 30). 

7. The cry of confidence (Luke xxiii. 46). 

y 2. How may these ^^ seven ■words^'' he classified f 

The first three had reference to His personal relations ; the 
second three to His work of salvation ; while the last refers to 
Himself as finishing His earthly existence. The first three 
were uttered early in the crucifixion ; the last four about the 
time of His death— the ninth hour — 3 p.m. 

■J 3. What are the inscriptions on the cross as given by the Four 

Evangelists respectively f 
**This is Jesus the Kin^)f the Jews"— Matt, xxvii. 37. 
*'The King of the Jews"— Mark xv. 26. 



GOSPEL ADDENDA. 383 

''This is the King of tlie Jews" — Luke xxiii. 38. 

" Jesus of Nazaretli the King of the Jews" — John xix. 19. 

There is here variation, but no contradiction. 

4. What was remarkable about these supersci'iptions 9 

That at the lowest point of our Lord's humiliation, in He- 
brew, Latin, and Greek, the languages of the three principal 
peoples of the world, He should thus officially be proclaimed 
Messiah-King. This was a great grief and scandal to the 
rulers of the Jews (xix. 20-22). The universality of His mis- 
sion is also thus, as it were, officially proclaimed. 

5. What are our LorcV s post-7^esurrection appearances f 
Ten, and are as follows : 

1. To the women returning from the sepulchre (Matt, 
xxviii. 9). 

2. To Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre (Mark xvi. 9 ; John 
XX. 14). 

3. To Peter (1 Cor. xv. 5). 

4. To the Emmaus disciples (Luke xxiv. 13-35). 

5. To the Ten Apostles— Thomas absent — (Mark xvi. 14-18 ; 
Luke xxiv. 36-49 ; John xx. 19-23 ; 1 Cor. xv. 5). 

6. To the Eleven — Thomas present — (John xx. 24-29). 

7. To the Seven on the shore of the Lake (John xxi. 1-24). 

8. To the Eleven Apostles and five hundred other Brethren 
on a mountain in Galilee (Matt, xxviii. 16-20 ; 1 Cor. xv. 5, 6). 

9. To James, probably at Jerusalem (1 Cor. xv. 7). 

10. To the Eleven at Jerusalem (Acts i. 3-8 ; 1 Cor. xv. 7). 
The first five appearances took place at or near Jerusalem on 

the day of our Lord's resurrection. The last one Forty Days 
later. 

6. Why did Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 5 say that our Lord was seen 
of the Twelve when one was ivanting f 

He uses the term in reference to the complete number of the 
Apostolate ; just as we would speak of a regiment or a company 
of soldiers, though neither might have the full complement in 
their ranks. 

7. What arethe grand central facts of the Gosp>el narratives ? 

Four: the Incarnation, the Life, the Death, and the Resur- 
rection of our Lord— the essential facts and truths of the 



384 THE TEMPLE OPENED. " 

Gospel which at first made it good news to men ; and wliich 
must continue to do so to man, the sinner, till the end of time. 

8. How is the resurrection of our Lord commonly regarded? 

As the crowning miracle of the Gospel — all forms of miracu- 
lous working being included in it. This, however, is not reck- 
oned in the number of our Lord's miracles, these being com- 
monly confined to those He wrought prior to His crucifixion. 

9. How m,any of the miracles of our Lord are recorded by 
the Evangelists f 

Thirty-six — if the resurrection and the miraculous draught 
of fishes (John xxi.) be included — thirty-eight. Some other 
extraordinary things are in doubt, as to whether they should 
be properly classed as miracles proper. 

10. How m,any m,iracles does each Evangelist record f 

Matthew and Luke record twenty each — the former only 
three peculiar to himself, and the latter twice as many — six. 
Mark records eighteen — one-half of the whole — but has only 
tivo peculiar to himself; while John mentions only eight, with, 
however, six peculiarly his own. 

11. What are the various kinds of m,iracles wrought by our 
Lord ? 

He turns water into wine ; heals the sick, cleanses the lepers, 
casts out demons, makes the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, 
the blind to see ; walks on the sea, calms the tempest, feeds the 
multitudes, procures tribute money from a fish ; causes the 
barren fig-tree to wither, and raises the dead. With one ex- 
ception — the cursing of the Fig-tree— the condemnation of use- 
lessness— they were all beneficent — works of mercy— almighty 
power used in the service of love— philanthropic. 

12. WJiat does an analysis of the thirty-five beneficent m,iracles 
shoiu as to their variety 9 

There were eleven cures of various diseases ; six impersonal 
and all different ; twice lepers were cleansed and twice multi- 
tudes were fed ; three times the dead was restored to life ; seven 
times exorcism was efTected ; and four times the blind receive 



> 



GOSPEL ADDENDA. 385 

their sight. In addition to these specific miracles, however, 
there are five recorded instances when multitudes with all 
sorts of diseases and physical maladies were healed at the 
same time. 

»^ 13. For what 2^urpose did our Lord work miracles? 

Not to prove His Divinity, but as a proof of His Divine 
Legation. The miracles were His credentials of Messiahship, 
the evidences to the world that He was a Prophet come from 
God (Matt. xi. 1-6 ; John iii. 2). 

14. Had the miracles of our Lord any spiritual significance f 

Yes ; each one has its own essential characteristic, teaching 
some truth or duty, and often foreshadowing a glorious future. 
The miracles are, in fact, parables in action, and should be so 
studied. 

15. ITow are the miracles variously characterized in the Gos- 
pels 9 

As "powers," "wonders," and "signs." As the first, they 
excite surprise ; as the second, they prompt inquiry ; and as 
the third, they are the seals of the Divine Commission — the 
chief end for which they were wrought. 

16. How many Parables did our Loj^d speak as recorded in 
the Gospels? 

Of the whole number of similitudes or allegorical illustra- 
tions put forth by our Lord, thirty are conceded by all to be 
properly classed as Parables ; while some put the number as 
high as fifty-two ; while, on the other hand, three of those 
most familiar symbolic narratives commonly ranked as Para- 
bles — "The Publican and the Pharisee," "The Good Samari- 
tan," and "The Rich Man and Lazarus" — are by some ex- 
cluded from the list. 

17. What a7'e the grounds of such exclusion ? 

That in their primary reference these narratives give direct 
patterns for action, and in their secondary meaning apply to 
clssses, and not to individuals. It seems as if, in this view, we 
may read in these the opposition of Christianity to Judaism, 

25 



386 THE TEMPLE OPENED. • 

in its essential Spirituality, in its universal Love, and in its 
outward Lowliness. 

18. What is a list of the thirty/ symbolic narratives cor)vmonly 
recognized as Parables ? 

The Sower, The Tares, The Mustard Seed, The Leaven, The 
Hidden Treasure, The Pearl, The Draw-Net, The Unmerciful 
Servant, The Vineyard Laborers, The Two Sons, The Wicked 
Husbandmen, The Royal Marriage Feast, The Ten Virgins, The 
Intrusted Talents, Tlie Seed Growing Secretly, The Two 
Debtors, The Good Samaritan, The Friend at Midnight, The 
Rich Fool, The Barren Fig-Tree, The Excuses, The Lost Sheep, 
The Lost Coin, The Prodigal Son, The Prudent Steward, The 
Rich Man and Lazarus, The Unprofitable Servants, The Impor- 
tunate Widow, The Pharisee and The Publican, The Servants 
and the Pounds. 

19. Which of the Evangelists adheres most closely to the 
chronological order of the events they record f 

John. He is the chronological ilium iiiator of the Evangel- 
ists. jNIark and Lulve are next to John. Matthew is by no 
means chronological. 

20. Which of the Evangelists gives us the account of our 
Lord^s early ministry f 

John. Our Lord's ministry was begun as it was ended in 
Judea. His first recorded discourses were with Nicodemus 
and the Woman of Samaria (John iii. 4). The Sermon on the 
INIount, which appears first in Matthew, was not delivered till 
late on in our Lord's public ministry. 

21. What was the first and last symbolic act of our Lord? 

Cleansing the Temple ; thus showing at the beginning and 
end of His public ministry that He was its Lord Whose coming 
Malachi, the last of the Okl Testament prophets, had foretold. 

22. Are there any difficulties and apjKtrent discrepancies in 

the Oospels ? ' 

Yes ; though there is not one of any vital importance, all of 
them relating to matters historical or chronological, not moral. 



GOSPEL ADDENDA. 387 

23. How are these difficulties and discrepancies to be ac- 
counted for? 

Tliey are traceable, in maDy cases, to errors of early tran- 
scribers, and in others to our ignorance of explanatory circum- 
stances and minute links and details. The Evangelists do not 
pretend to say everything. If the gaps were all filled up, and 
the text restored to its original purity, all difficulties would 
disappear. Meanwhile the difficulties of the Gospels no more 
interfere with their light-giving power and life-giving influ- 
ence, than do the spots on the sun with his illuminating and 
vitalizing effects upon the world on w^hich he shines. 

24. How may the distinctive characteristics of the SynoxMsts 
as writers be described ? 

Matthew groups together doctrinal teachings in the form of 
great discourses — he is a Preacher. Mark narrates events as 
they occur to his mind — he is a Chronicler. Luke reproduces 
the external and internal development of the events — he is 
the Historian proioerly so-called. 

25. How many times ivas our Lord^iut ujwn His trial? 

Five : (1) before Annas (John xviii. 13) ; (2) before Caiaphas 
(John xviii. 24) ; (3) before Pilate, the first time (John xviii. 28) ; 
(4) before Herod (Luke xxiii. 6-12) ; (5) before Pilate, the 
second time (Luke xxiii. 13). 

26. How do the Four Oosj^els compare in length ? 

The Third Gospel is the longest and the Second the shortest. 
Next to the Third, which contains about 24,000 words, conies 
the First with about 1200 words less. The Fourth Gospel in 
order stands third as to length. 

27. How do the Evangelisis vary as to their accounts of our 
Lord's Nativity and decUh? 

While only Matthew and Luke give any account of His 
birth, the whole four dwell at length upon the details of His 
death — nearly one-third of the entire Gospels being occupied 
with the last seven days of our Saviour's life, including His 
Crucifixion. The prominence given to these scenes He Him- 
self explains (John xii. 28, 24). 



388 THE TEMPLE OPENED. • 

28. Who were responsible for our Lord's death? 

It was not tlie mob, the masses, the common people, for they 
were always the friends of Jesus and heard Him gladly ; but 
it was the hierarchy, official Judaism, the leaders of the peo- 
ple, that compassed His destruction. And so it has ever been : 
Ecclesiasticism, Priestism — these are the foes of progress and 
spirituality, and that, in the name of Religion, perpetrate the 
greatest crimes. It is not enough, therefore, to belong to an 
orthodox Church ; we must have an orthodox Heart also ; be 
of an orthodox Spirit as well. 

29. What are the distinguishing characteristics of our T^ord^s 
teaching, as exhibited In the Gospels 9 

Five : (1) Authority (Matt. vii. 29) ; (2) Originality (Luke x. 
22 ; John vii. 46) ; (3) Spirituality (John vi. 63) ; (4) Tenderness 
and Benevolence (Matt. xi. 28-30 ; Luke iv. 22) ; and (5) Prac- 
ticalness (Matt. V. 48 ; Luke xi. 28). 

30. What prominent event in the history of our Lord is men- 
tioned by bid two of the Evangelists ? 

The Transfiguration. This event, so central in Matthew and 
Mark, is not even alluded to by the other two Evangelists. 

31. What were the names of the Twelve A2')ostlesf 

The three pairs of brothers : Peter and Andrew — James and 
John, the sons of Zebedee — James and Jude (otherwise called 
Judas — not Iscariot, John xiv. 22 — LebbeusandThaddeus), the 
sons of Alpheus ; Philip and Bartholomew alias Nathanael 
(John i. 47 ; xxi. 2) ; Thomas and Matthew (Levi) the publi- 
can ; Simon the "Canaanite," that is, the Zealot, and Judas 
Iscariot the Traitor (Matt. x. 2-4J. 



THE ACTS. 389 

THE ACTS. 

THE ACTS AND THE THIRD GOSPEL. 

1. Who is the author of the Acts ? 

« 
Luke, the author of the Third Gospel — the EvangeHst-his- 

toriau (Cf. i. 1 with Luke i. 1-4). Besides these references 
there is exhibited such a marked parallelism in the plan and 
so striking a similarity in the style of the Gospel and the Acts 
as to put it beyond doubt that both were the work of the same 
hand, and the product of the same mind. The same catholic 
spirit also breathes through the Acts from beginning to end 
(Cf. ii. 7-11 with xxviii. 28-31) that we found to be character- 
istic of the Third Gospel. 

2. 7s there any vital connection between the two Books f 

Yes ; one single idea inspires the whole narrative and de- 
termines the selection of its materials — the development of the 
Christian work from the twofold point of view, [a) of its or- 
ganic growth out of Judaism, and (6) of its breach with the 
Israeli tish people and its transfer to the Gentiles. This is the 
key to the structure and contents of both compositions. 

3. Hoiv, then^ should the two Books be regarded? 

Not as separate and distinct works, but as one work in two 
volumes, the title of which should be The History of the 
Christian Church ; or. The Christian Church : Its Rise and 
Growth from the Birth of its Founder to its Complete Eman- 
cipation from all Jewish encumbrances and its launching out 
into Gentile waters, equipped for its work, and secure of its 
destiny— the Conquest of the World (Acts xxviii. 28-31). 

4. WJiat ivas the author'' s aim in this history ? 

To strengthen the faith of Christians, and to commend 
Christianity to the confidence of the world as a religion 
worthy of its acceptance, by a consecutive exposition of the 
history of its Founder, and of the establishment of His king- 
dom over Humanity — His Church among men. In his Gospel 
the Evangelist accomplishes the first part of his program, and 
in his History — the Acts— the second. Salvation and the 



390 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Church — such are the two works of God on which, in these 
two volumes, Luke meant to slied the light of the Divine mind. 

5. By what ads luas our Lord freed from the restriction of 
national obligation f 

The Cross broke the last link between Jesus and the Jews 
— between Israel and its King. It is the Resurrection and 
Ascension, however, that freed our Saviour from every national 
relation, and raised Him to a free and glorious existence, suited 
to the nature of the Son of God (Rom. i. 3, 4), and made Him 
in the words of Peter (Acts x. 36) " Lord of All." The Israel- 
itish Messiah by birth. He becomes by His Death and Ascen- 
sion the King of the Universe. From that time forth His* 
people is the Human Race. 

6. What^ then, is the link of connection between the two vol- 
umes — the Oospel and the History ? 

The Ascension. This event forms at once the climax of the 
Gospel story (Luke xxiv. 50-.")8) and the starting-point for the 
History (Acts i. 1-11). On the one side we ascend to this sum- 
mit ; on the other we descend from it. Hence the double nar- 
ration of the fact. It belongs, indeed, to both volumes— to the 
one as its crown, to the other as its basis. It is the bond which 
joins together the two aspects of the Divine work — that in 
whicli Jesus rises from the Manger to the Throne, and tliat in 
which, from the Throne on High, Ho acts upon Humanity, 
creating, preserving, and extending the Church. It forms a 
part of the history of jESUS~of Salvation — and of the Church. 
The goal of the one writing, it is the foundation of the other. 
The aim of the one work in its two volumes, thus understood, 
explains its beginning (the announcement of the forerunner's 
birtli), its middle (the Ascension), and its end (Paul and the 
Synagogue at Rome). 

7. What is the x>ciraUeUsm in the plan of the two volumes f 

In the Gospel, the history proper begins with the baptism of 
Jesus (iii.), and comprises three parts : (1) The Galilean min- 
istry, in which Jesus draws to Himself the elements of His 
future Church, and lays down in tlie Apostolate the principle 
of its organization ; (2) the Journey from Galilee to Judea — 
a transition period, characterized by inward development and 



THE ACTS. 391 

outward opposition on the part of official Judaism ; (3) the 
Sojourn at Jerusalem, when the Cross violently breaks the 
last link between Israel and its King. In the Acts, after an 
introduction as in the Gosx)el (Cf. i. witli Luke i., ii.), Pente- 
cost introduces the Church on the theatre of history, as His 
baptism called Jesus to His public activity. Then follows the 
three parts : (1) the first part of the narrative relates first the 
founding of the Church of Jerusalem, the Mother and Model 
of all others ; and then the obstinate resistance of official Ju- 
daism (ii.-v.) ; (2) the second part, perhaps the most remarka- 
ble in many respects, delineates, like the second part of the 
Gospel, a transition period (vi.-xii.) ; (3) while the third part 
relates the foundation of the Chuch among the Gentiles by 
Paul in his three famous journeys ; and whose sufferings at 
Jerusalem form a sort of counterpart to the Passion in the 
Gospel (xiii.-xxviii.). Thus in the Acts is given us, in bi*ief 
space, a complete and precise view of that mighty religious 
revolution by which God transferred His kingdom from the 
Jews to the Gentiles ; even as in the Gospel we have a history 
of how Jesus Himself was emancipated from Jewish restric- 
tions to become King of the Universe. 



THE ACTS AS A BOOK. 

8. WTiat is to be said of the title of this Book 9 

It is no part of the original work, and, like the titles of some 
of the Books in the Old Testament, is not very happily chosen. 
In the English the title is " the Acts," but in the Greek it is 
simply "Acts (or Actings) of the Apostles." Neither, how- 
ever, is exactly accurate. The English title would imply that 
the Book contains a history of the Twelve, which it does not ; 
and the Greek title would imply that it contains, not a com- / 
plete history of the Twelve, but eertain representative and I 
significant *'acts" of the Twelve, which is also misleading; for 
in point of fact it contains an account of the " acts" or *' act- 
ings" of only Two of the Twelve — Peter and Paul — and not a 
complete history of their actings either, since Peter, having 
played his part, passes off the stage in xi. without notice of 
liis exit (reappearing again only incidentally^ in xv. ), and Paul 
is abruptly left at the commencement of his two years' imprison- 
ment at Rome. 



392 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

9. W7iat light do these facts shed on the real nature of this 
Book 9 

That it is not a history of the Apostles, but a record of the 
establislimeut of the Christian Cliurch. Tlie Gospels — the 
others as well as the Third — do not give ns a Life, a complete 
Biography of Jesus, but a narrative of man's redemption ; so 
the Acts does not detail the fortunes of men, but sets forth tlie 
various forms of Christian truth. The Acts is, therefore, sim- 
ply a Chapter in Church History. 

10. Theologically considered, what is the nature of the Acts f 

It is the historical explanation and justification — even as 
Paul's Thcodicce in Romans ix.-xi. is from the standing-point 
of Cliristian speculation — of the way in which that great revo- 
lution was carried through, which transferred the kingdom 
of God from the Jews to the Gentiles. It is the Apology of 
the Divine work— that of Jehovah Hiimself. 

11. Is there any similarity between the Acts and Genesis? 

Yes ; the Acts is, in a way, the counterpart of Genesis. Tlie 
latter relates how the transition took place from primitive 
universalism to theocratic particularism, through Jehovah's 
covenant with Abraham. The Acts relates how God returned 
from this temporary particularism to that catholicity. or con- 
clusive univer.saHsm, wliicli was ever His real thought. The 
Acts, however, besides simply describing t\\efact, explains and 
justifies the abnormal and unforeseen form in whicli it came 
about — how Israel broke with God, and not God with Israel. 
In addition to this, moreover, as the Acts contains the be- 
ginnings, the first tilings, of the Christian Church, it may be 
called the Genesis of the New Testament. 

12. Is there any significance in the position of the Acts in the 
New Testament Canon? 

Yes ; whether intentional or undesigned, as it stands between 
the two, it forms the grand connecting link between the Gos- 
pels and the Epistles, being a sort of sequel or appendix to the 
former and an introduction to the latter, and is therefore in- 
dispensably necessary to a right understanding of both. Be- 
sides, between the Acts and the Epistles the coincidences are 
so many, so minute and yet so undesigned, so obvious and yet 



THE ACTS. 393 

SO remote, that the genuineness of both is thereby so clearly 
proven that no unprejudiced mind can entertain a doubt of 
the truthfulness of both. 

13. How is the Acts related to the past ? 

As the Ascension is the bond of union between the Acts and 
the Third Gospel, so Pentecost is the link of connection between 
Old Testament Prophecy and New Testament History (Cf. 
Acts ii. with Joel ii.). 

THE ACTS— CONTENTS. 

14. Wliat is the scope of the Acts ? 

It records the descent of the Holy Spirit according to the 
promise of our Lord (Cf. i. 4, 5 with Luke xxiv. 49), and the 
resulting diffusion of the Gospel among Jews and Gentiles 
according to the program marked out by our Lord (i. 8). It 
traces the founding, early training, and the expansion of the 
Christian Church from Jerusalem, the ecclesiastical capital, to 
Rome, the political metropolis of the world. 

15. What is the character of this history ? 

The record is truly wonderful. In it all is movement, prog- 
ress, controversy, and spiritual conquest. Here we have the 
illustration of those Parables of the Kingdom recorded in Mat- 
thew xiii. Here we see the Church rearing its marvellous form 
amidst the tumults of the world's most exciting history ; and 
names rising almost visibly out of social obscurity into the 
noblest and most imperishable fame known to human society. 
It is a veritable battle-field, in which the contest lies between 
a feebleness socially contemptible and a strength socially im- 
perial and invincible, with the victory perching on the banners 
of the former. It is the Gospels applied — the grand Missionary 
Epic. 

16. Who are the main actors in this history ? 

These are Divine and human, invisible and visible. In no 
other Book of the Bible are the operations of the Three Persons 
of the Holy Trinity more clearly recognized than in this his- 
tory. Everywhere Jehovah, the God of Israel, is recognized 
as the God of the Christian Church, the New Theocracy ; the 



394 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Evangelist himself regards the establishment of that Church 
as but the Continuation of our Lord's royal administration as 
Mediator and Redeemer, the history in his Gospel being only 
an account of what Jesus '•'•Began to do and teach" (i. 1, 2) ; 
while all the grand results are traceable directly to the agency 
of the Holy Spirit operating in and through the Apostles 
and other human instruments of His Divine power. Hence 
this Book is variouslj^ called "The Acts of the Risen Lord," 
"The Gospel of the Holy Spirit," and "The Acts of the 
Apostles ;" while, being a Divine-human history, it is, in fact, 
all of them together. 

17. How may the contents of this history he divided f 

In a general way the Book fulls naturally into two great 
parts, the first of which has for its grand central figure, around 
whom its contents may be grouped, Peter, the Apostle of the 
"circumcision" — that is, of the Jews, and who is the instrument 
in the hand of God for opening the Door of Faith first to his 
own people and then to the Gentile world (Cf. ii.-xii. with Matt, 
xvi. 18) ; and the second of which has for its grand central 
figure Paul, the great Apostle of the " uncircumcision" — that 
is, of the Gentiles, around whom its contents may be grouped, 
which give an account of the establishment of the Church in 
the heathen world (xiii.-xxviii.). Keeping in mind, howev^er, 
the great purpose of tlie Ev'angelist-historian, which is to ac- 
count for that mighty religious revolution by which the king- 
dom of God was transferred from the Jews to the Gentiles, the 
Acts, like the Gospel, may be divided into three parts: (1) the 
birth of the Church and its collision with official Judaism (i.- 
V.) ; (2) the transition period— the march of the Church towards 
the Gentile world in the face not only of the violent opposition 
of unbelieving Israel, but even on the part of believing Jews 
(vi.-xii.) ; and (3) the ministry of Paul, or the Church in the 
Gentile world, Judaism continuing its opposition in every city, 
and which reaches its consummation in the very heart of the 
empire, in the capital of the world, in the rejection of the Gos- 
pel by the rulers of the Synagogue at Rome (xiii.-xxviii.). 

18. About what is the introduction of the Acts taken up ? 

The Forty Days' Communion between the Risen Redeemer 
and His Disciples, and which had a fourfold object and result : 



THE ACTS. 395 

(1) To put His Resurrection beyond doubt ; (2) to give instruc- 
tions as to tlie kingdom of God ; (3) to prepare tliem for His 
invisible conduct of tlie Cliurcli ; and (4) to inspire true mis- 
sionary zeal. 

19. What is the basis upon which Chy^lstianity 7^estsf 

The basis of historical fact. It comes to us amply attested 
as a supernatural system — its first grand event — on which it is 
based — the Incarnation — being a Miracle, yet a Historical 
Fact ; and its last grand events— the Resurrection and Ascen- 
sion of its Divine Founder which authenticates and crowns 
all— being Miracles, yet Historical Facts, as much as any 
others which are found recorded in the annals of the world. 

20. Wliat are the main facts in connection with the birth and 
manifestation of the Church in Jerusalem ? 

Pentecost, the Gift of Tongues, the three thousand conver- 
sions, and Cliristian communism (ii.) ; opposition from with- 
out — the persecution of the Apostles, and trouble within — the 
defection of Ananias and Sapphira (iii.-v.). 

21. What are the salient features of the transition period? 

The Division of labor— ordination of Deacons (vi.) ; the 
Martyrdom of Stephen and the Dispersion of the Christians 
(vi. 9-viii.2); the Pentecost in Samaria under Philip the 
Evangelist-deacon, and tlie conversion of the Eunuch of 
Ethioi)ia (viii.) ; the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the future 
Apostle and Missionary Bishop (ix.) ; the Vision of Peter in 
Joppa, and by which God taught him that the wall of separa- 
tion between Jew and Gentile was broken down ; the opening 
of the Door of the Church to the Gentile world in the person 
of Cornelius, the Roman centurion (x.) ; Peter's apology for 
his course in mingling with the Gentiles, and the founding of 
the Church at Antioch, the first Church of Heathendom, the 
Jerusalem of the Gentile world (xi.) ; and the rebellion of Israel 
in the Holy Land (xii.). 

22. What are the contents o/ xii. ? ' 

The martyrdom of James, the attempted martyrdom of 
Peter, and the sudden and horrible death of their persecutor, 
the last great representative of the Jewish nation, Herod 



396 THE TEMPLE OPENED. • 

Agrippa— persecuting Israel struck dead in the person of its 
last monarch. 

23. What are the main features of the third and last part? 

The establishment of the Church in the Gentile world 
through the labors of Paul and his colleagues in their three 
great Missionary Journeys, the arrest and attempted nuu'der 
of the Apostle in Jerusalem, his five successive defences or 
apologies for his life and conduct, and his final incarceration 
as a prisoner in Rome, with which the history ends (xiii.- 
xxviii.). 

24. How does Paul comjiare with Peter in this history ? 

Great as Peter appears in the first part in his work in Israel, 
Paul is seen to be not one whit behind him in his ministry 
among the Gentiles in the last part ; the extraordinary mira- 
cles and successes by which God accredited the former being 
repeated in np less a measure in the case of the other (Cf. this 
history with Gal. i. 7, 8 ; 1 Cor. xv. 8, 9 ; 2 Cor. xi. 5). 

2.5. Is there any luarrant in this history for the ^mpeship of 
Peter, as claimed by the Roman Catholic Church ? 

No ; while on the one hand tiiere is not the slightest evidence 
either that he himself laid claim to such a primacy among his 
colleagues, or that his brethren accorded him any such 
supremacy, there are, on the other hand, many passages and 
situations in which the Apostle is found and figures, utterly 
irreconcilable with the idea of his popeship or official primacy ; 
as witness especially his treatment by the brethren at Jeru- 
salem (xi.), and the subordinate part he plays in the First 
Synod or General Council at Jerusalem (xv.). Either Peter 
was not Pope, or, if he were, Leo XIII. is not his successor. 
And so far as that Apostle ever being bishop of Rome is con- 
cerned, there is not a scintilla of evidence in this history or 
anywhere else that he was ever at Rome at all. 

20. What does this history teach as to the effect of persemdion 
on the progress of the Kingdom,? 

That it accelerates its movements rather than retards its 
progress. The Gospel ship has never made such good head- 
way as when sailing through bloody seas and running her 



THE ACTS. 397 

prow right into the eye of the tempest of persecution. The 
blood of the martyrs has ever been the Seed of the Church. 
Hence, despite ail opposition, in less than the third of a century, 
or during the average lifetime of man, Christianity had 
reached tlie chief seats of power and learning, cliurches having 
been formed in Asia Minor and Palestine, in Babylon and 
Egypt, in Greece and in Italy, and had thus, in miniature, made 
the conquest of the world. 

27. Is there any parallel between the history in the Acts and 
that in the Book of Joshua 9 

Yes ; as Palestine, the Land of Promise, was conquered by 
Israel after the flesh under Joshua with the sword, so the 
world, promised to the Son for His inheritance (Ps. li.), is here 
conquered by the Church, the spiritual Israel, under Jesus, 
with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 

28. What is a distinguishing feature of this history f 

The prominence given to the operations of the Holy Spirit. 
It had ever been by Divine power that men were drawn to 
God ; but now the reality of spiritual agency becomes more 
obvious, and the Third Person of the Holy Trinity stands out 
more conspicuously before the Church as the great agent in 
the conversion of men. This is pre-eminently the Dispensation 
of the Holy Spirit. 

29. What does this history teach as to the Divine method of 
extending the Kingdom f 

The importance attached to great cities. Beginning at Jeru- 
salem, the Apostles passed from city to city, from one great 
centre of population to another, and thence causing the light 
to radiate into the regions round about. This is strikingly 
illustrated in -the career of the Apostle Paul. His first centre 
of Christian labor was in Antioch, the "Queen of the East," 
where he toiled for more than three years, and which he made 
his pernmnent basis of operations. A similar period he spent 
in Ephesus, capital of (proconsular) Asia. Two years he abode 
in Corinth, the leading city of Greece. And at the end of his 
course, during his captivity, he labored two years in Caesarea, 
the political capital of Judea, and two years in Rome, the 
political capital of the world. 



398 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

30. To luhat distinction can the Church at Antioch lay claim ? 

To being the first Cliristian Cluircli in the Gentile woiici, 
and the Motlier and Model of all Missionary Churches. Tlie 
first Foreign Missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, were ordained 
and sent out from the First Church of Antiocji in Syria (xiii. 
1-3). 

31. How many capitals had early Christianity f 

Four: Jerusalem, "the mother of us all;" Antioch, the 
mother Church of Gentile Christendom, and where the " disci- 
ples were first called Christians" (xi. 26) ; Ephesus, the great 
religious and literary centre of Asia Minor — the city of the 
"great goddess Diana, whom all Asia and the world worship- 
peth" (xix. 27) ; and Rome, the faith of whose people was 
"spoken of throughout the whole world" (Rom. i. 8). 

32. How many times is the conversion of Paul related in the 
Acts ? 

Three : first by Luke as a matter of History (ix.) ; next by 
the Apostle himself in explanation of his change of heart and 
life, {a) to the Jewish populace from tlie stairs of the Castle of 
Antonio (xxii.), and (6) for a similar purpose in his defence be- 
fore Agrippa (xxvi.). His conversion is a favorite argument 
with the Apostle in his preaching ; for, besides being the sub- 
stance of two of his^i'e discourses preserved to us in tlie Acts", 
he makes repeated allusions to it in his Epistles (Gal. i. 13-16 ; 
Phil. iii. 4, 5). And no wonder ; for after the Resurrection and 
Ascension of our Lord and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the 
Gospel history has no evidence like the Conversion of Saul of 
Tarsus. 

33. How many times tvas the Apostle put upon his defence after 
his arrest in Jerusalem ? 

Five : (1) before the populace on the castle stairs (xxii.) ; (2) 
before the Sanhedrim (xxiii.) ; (3) before Felix at Csesarea 
(xxiv.) ; (4) before Festus (xxv.) ; and (5) before Agrippa (xxvi.). 

34. Hoiv long had Paul been in the service of Christ at the 
close of this history ? 

About twenty-four years. The whole period covered by his 
Christian course was about twenty-six years, being put to death 



THE ACTS. 399 

under Nero about a.d. 67 or 68. The last five years he was a 
prisoner in chains, first at C£esarea and then at Rome. His 
Christian hfe was a continued martyrdom (Rom. viii. 36). 
His arrival in Rome was in fulfilment of God's promise (xxiii. 
11). 

35. In what character were the Christians to appear before 
the world, according to this history f 

As Witnesses (i. 8 ; xxiii. 11). 

36. What ivas the great theme of Apostolic preaching as re- 
vealed in this history f 

"Jesus and the Resurrection!" These things consid- 
ered as Facts and not theories concerning them, or interpre- 
tations of them. It is by the facts of redemption themselves, 
and not theologies based upon them, that souls are to be saved. 

37. What is involved in the topic — ** Jesus and the Resurrec- 
tion'^ f 

All that is noblest in prophecy, all that is deepest in history, 
and all that is jnu'est in morals. Jesus is a greater term than- 
any definition of Jesus ; so with Resurrection, so with Atone- 
ment, so with Faith, and so with every word that points to the 
secret of God. 

38. What various steps in Church organization and govern- 
ment does this history reveal ? 

Four : (1) The preliminaries to organization — waiting upon 
God (i.) ; (2) meeting emergencies — ordination of Deacons (vi.) ; 
(3) the completion of the organization of individual Churches 
— appointment of elders or office bearers in the House of God 
(xiv. 23) ; and (4) the model for Courts of Review and Control 
— or the general oversight of the whole Church — the Council at 
Jerusalem (xv.). 

39. In tvhat particular respects is the Acts a Ouide-Book for 
the Church in all ages ? 

(1) In the matter of Revivals — their conditions and manifes- 
tations (i., ii.) ; (2) in the matter of Prayer, {a) for a special 
baptism of the Spirit (i. 14), (6) as a stated ordinance of the 



400 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Church (ii. 42), (c) for deliverance from persecutors (iv. 24), 
(fZ) for the rescue of individuals — Peter in prison (xii. 5), (e) at 
the consecration of Missionaries (xiii. 3.; also xvi. 13; xx. 
36 ; xxvii. 25) ; (3) in the matters of the Church's Duty to the 
Heathen (xiii. 2 and onward); (4) in the prominence to be 
given to the Household Covenant (ii. 39 ; x. 1-48 ; xvi. 31) ; and 
(5) in the matter of the Christian Life, in which (a) Fellowship? 
and (6) Beneficence, play a conspicuous part (ii. 41-47 ; iv. 
32-34 ; vi. 1-4 ; xi. 27-30). 

40. What is the briefest biography o/ Jesus in the New Testa- 
ment f 

That in Acts x. 38, where Peter sums up His beneficent and 
blessed ministry in this simple but sublime record— -He went 
about doing good ! 

41 . What tragedies are reported in this history ? 

The death of Ananias and Sapphira (v. 1-11) ; the murder 
of Stephen the first or proto-nuirtyr (vi. 9-viii. 2) ; tlie killing 
of James, the second martyr (xii. 1, 2), and the horrible death 
.of Herod (xii. 21-24). 

42. What remarkable addresses are reported in this history f 

Peter's sermon and defences (ii.-v.) ; Stephen's defence (vii.) ; 
Paul's sermon at Antioch in Pisidia (xiii.), and on Mars' Hill 
at Athens (xvii.) ; his charge to the Elders of Ephesus (xx. 
28-35) ; his defence from the stairs of the castle of Antonio in 
Jerusalem (xx. 1-21); before the Sanhedrim (xxiii.) ; before 
Felix (xxiv. 2-21) ; and before Agrippa (xxvi.). 

43. What ivomen are mentioned in this history ? 

Besides "the devout and honorable women" who arrayed 
themselves against Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia 
(xiii. 50), and the Berean honorable women which were Greeks, 
who believed (xvii. 12), and the four virgin daughters of Philip 
which did proi)hesy (xxi. 9), but seven females are mentioned 
by name, the first, Sapphira (v. 1-11), and the last, Bernice (xxv. 
23) — reflecting anything but credit on their sex ; while the 
other five are honored ornaments of the Christian Church — 
Mary, the Mother of Jesus (i. 14), Dorcas the Benevolent (ix. 



THE ACTS. 401 

36), Rhoda the Useful (xii. 13), Lydia the first-fruits of Europe 
(xvi. 14), and Priscilla the Succorer of Paul and the Instruc- 
tress of Apollos (xviii. 2, 26). 

44. Are there any miracles recorded in this history ? 

Yes; the "Acts" simply throbs and thrills with the super- 
natural. Besides the spiritual wonders— miracles of grace— 
which run up into the thousands, twenty specific miracles — 
more than one-half of all credited to our Lord (36)— are re- 
corded in this history ; two of which were the raising of the 
dead to hfe (John xiv. 12 ; Mark xvi. 14-18). But besides these 
specific miracles, there are two instances of miscellaneous heal- 
ing by the Apostles (ii. 43 ; v. 12, 15, 16) ; many signs and won- 
ders by Stephen (vi. 8), by Phihp (viii. 7), by Paul and Barna- 
bas (xiv. 3), and also by Paul (xix. 11, 12 ; xxviii. 1-9). 

45. What are the specific miracles recorded in the Acts f 

The gift of tongues (ii. 1-11) ; the lame man cured (iii. 1-11) ; 
the shaking of the prayer hall (iv. 31) ; the death of Ananias 
and Sapphira (v, 1-11) p Apostles delivered from prison (v. 19) ; 
the translation of Philip (viii. 39, 40) ; ^neas made whole (ix. 
34) ; Dorcas restored to life (ix. 36-42) ; Paul's sight restored 
(ix. 17) ; the vision of Peter (x. 9-16) ; the deliverance of Peter 
from prison (xii. 6-10) ; the death of Herod (xii. 20-23) ; Elymas 
the sorcerer struck blind (xiii. 6-11) ; the lame man at Lystra 
cured (xiv. 8-11) ; the vision of Paul (xvi, 9) ; exorcism — the 
damsel of divination cured (xvi. 16-18) ; the jail at Philippi 
shaken (xvi. 25, 26) ; Eutychus restored to life (xx. 9-12) ; 
Paul unhurt by the bite of a poisonous viper (xxviii. 1-6); the 
father of Publius and many others healed (xxviii. 8, 9). 

46. What is the character of these m,iracles ? 

Of these, the death of Ananias and Sapphira, the death of 
Herod, and the affliction of Elymas the sorcerer, are miracles 
of judgment — penal inflictions — all the others are beneficent 
in their character. 

47. What is the greatest m,iracle in the Book f 

The Conversion of Saul. 

26 



402 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

48. What striking exhibition of the instinct of natural religion 
docs the closing chapter pi'esent f 

The Double Misjudgmeut of the iuhabitants, the *' barba- 
rians," of Malta, respecting Paul, who, reversing the process of 
the judgment of the Lystrans (xiv. 7-20), first judge him de- 
serving of deatli as a criminal, and then of worship as a god 
(xxviii. 1-6). Both judgments were mistaken. Instead of 
being either a murderer or a god, Paul was simply a man of 
God. 

49. What period of time is covered by the history of the Acts ? 

About thirty-four years — from A.D. 31 to A.D. 64— a period 
about eijual to that covered by the Gospel history — embracing 
the second third of the first Christian century, during the reigns 
of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero — Roman emperors. 

50. What was the nature of the first great theological contro- 
versy ivhich agitated the early Christian Church f 

It was a (piestion as to the permanency and binding obliga- 
tion of the Mosaic law — whether the Gentile might become 
Christian without first becoming Jew — whether the new wine 
of the Gospel should be put into the old bottles of Jewish rit- 
ualism — whether, in order to be a Christian, besides becoming 
a new creature in Christ, he must bear in his person a certain 
ecclesiastical brand, and conform to the requirements of a par- 
ticular ceremonial (xv.). 

51. How ivas this question decided 9 

In favor of spirituality, and freedom from the burdensome 
yoke of the old economy. Christianity is a Life, not a form 
or a Dogma. The issue was thus rightly decided by the Apos- 
tolic Synod ; but the conflict then begun, has never ceased 
during the ages, and sixteen centuries later the same battle was 
fought over by the apostolic Reformers, and with the same 
glorious result as in the original contest. 

52. Who arc the three military worthies in the Acts f 

Cornelius, the captain of the company of Roman soldiers 
quartered at Csesarea (x. 1) ; Claudius Lysias, the command- 
ant of the garrison at Jerusalem (xxii. 23-xxiii. 30) ; and Ju- 



THE ACTS. 403 

lius, the captain who was charged with conveying Paul and 
other prisoners from Caesarea to Rome (xxvii.-xxviii. 16). 
Cornelius the Devout, Lysias the Judicious, and Julius the 
Courteous. 

53. What luas the great tuiming-point in the history of the 
Christian Church as given in this history ? 

The Vision of Peter (x. 1-23), by which God taught him and 
the Jewish Ciiristians as a whole, that the wall of separation 
between the Jews and the Gentiles was now broken down, and 
that the Gentiles were to be received into fellowship in the 
Church upon the simple basis of faith in Christ, without refer- 
ence to circumcision or other conformity to the requirements 
of the Mosaic or Levitical ritual. More fully afterward, and 
frequently, the same needed lesson was taught ; for it is harder 
to abolish forms than to change opinions. Pure spirituality 
in religion is, for many, a truth difficult to realize. 

54. What is the attitude of criticism toward the Acts .^ 

Its attitude toward this history is of a piece with that it 
assumes toward the Third Gospel, viz., that Luke w^as not its 
author ; that it is not fact, but fiction, a sort of historical ro- 
mance, written about the end of the second century, with the 
view of reconciling two alleged bitterly hostile parties in the 
Church— the Pauline and the Petrine sects. If, however, Luke 
was not the author, the Book is a most shameless forgery, and 
the author a conscienceless impostor. And it seems incredible 
that the man who told the story of Ananias and Sapj)hira 
could hiniself be a monumental liar ! 



< 



404 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE EPISTLES. 

THE APOSTOLIC WRITERS. 

1. HoLv Ttiay this section of the New Testament be character- 
ized f 

It may-be variously designated. As this part of the Inspired 
Vohinie is epistolary in form, it may be called the Chamber 
of Correspondence in the Temple of Sacred Scripture. As 
these letters have to do directly with congregations or the in- 
dividuals which compose them, this part of the New Testament 
may be, and, indeed, commonly is, called the Church Section. 
As the edification of the Church is the purpose these Apostolic 
Epistles are designed to subserve, they may be called the Di- 
dactic Division ; that is, they have for their Object the instruc- 
tion of the Church in what, for the sake of ready recollection, 
may be called the two D's— Doctrine and Duty. If the con- 
tents of these letters be compared with those of the two previ- 
ous parts of the Testament, then as the Gospels are purely Bio- 
graphical, and the Acts purely Historical, so the Epistles may 
be designated as the Theological Department of the New Tes- 
tament Scriptures. 

2. Of how many Epistles is this section com^posed f 

Twenty-one : thirteen of Paul— the HebrewiVcommonly as- 
cribed to that great Apostle, being still in dispute— two of Peter, 
three of John, one of James, and one of Jude. 

3. Wc?c these persons all Apostles f 

Of only three of the five can this be affirmed with certainty- 
Paul, Peter, and John. James and Jude both style themselves 
not "apostles," but only "servants" of the Lord Jesus 
Christ ; so that it is an open and much-disputed question 
whether these writers were the Apostles of the same names, 
Jude or Judas [not Iscariot] being reckoned as identical with 
Lebbeus or Thaddeus of the Twelve (Cf. Matt. x. 3 ; xiii. 55 ; 
Mark iii. 18 ; John xiv. 22 ; Acts i. 13). 

4. Why are so few of the Twelve Ai:)Ostles represented in the 
New Testament Canon f 

To this question it may be answered, in general, that other 



-bo oJiM 



THE EPISTLES. 405 

writings than those which now compose the Canon were not 
dec Tied necessary to the completeness of the Inspired Vokime ; 
while it remains a curious fact that only four, or, at most, six, 
of the Twelve — and these not all of the original number, Paul 
being "as one born out of due time" (1 Cor. xv. 8) — have con- 
tributed anything to the Sacred Scriptures. And this is all 
the more remarkable, since two of those who have contributed 
to the New Testament, Mark and Luke the Evangelists, were 
neither of them Apostles ; and the wonder is still further in- 
creased when it is recalled that one of these few, Paul, is the 
author of at least one-third of the entire New Testament Scrip- 
tures. 

5. What became of the Twelve Apostles ? 

Not less remarkable than the fact that so few of the Twelve 
contribute anything to the contents of the Sacred Volume, is 
the other fact that, touching their lives after Pentecost (Acts i., 
ii.), with the exception of two or three of the original band, we 
know absolutely nothing with certainty ; while even the clos- 
ing details in the biographies of these two or three — Peter, 
Paul, and John — are plunged in deepest obscurity. The last 
we know of Peter is that he was a member of the Apostolic 
Council in Jerusalem (Acts xv.), while, so far as history is 
concerned, we take our leave of Paul as a prisoner " in his own 
hired house at Rome" (Acts xx viii. 30). After this we are left, 
as it were, to grope amid the windings of the catacombs. The 
only death of an Apostle recorded in the New Testament, or 
anywhere else as anything more than mere legend, is that of 
James the brother of John, whose tragic taking off is told bj'" 
Luke in tM^o words in the Greek and four in the English — 
"slain with the sword" — (Acts xii. 1, 2). And this is all that 
is trustworthy and certain respecting the final fate of the 
Twelve (Judas, of course, excepted) ; all else is inference and 
tradition, which is not always reliable, and very frequently 
quite the contrary. 

6. Did the Apostles whose " actings^'' we have in the Kew Tes- 
tament ahuays see eye to eye in matters of faith and practice f 

They did not. In matters of faith the earlier Apostles 
came very slowly by the great truth which the well-trained 
mind and illuminated soul of Paul grasped and rejoiced in at 



406 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

once — " the mystery which in other ages was not made known 
unto the sons of men, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs 
(with the Jews, the elect race), and of the same body, and par- 
takers of Jehovah's promise in Christ by the Gospel" (Eph. 
iii. 4-6). Not until the vision of Peter (Acts x.) did the Apos- 
tles dream of such a thing ; while in matters of practice there 
was between the earlier Apostles and Paul, the Apostle of the 
Gentiles— the " uncircumcision" — and those of the Jews — tlie 
"circumcision" — a very serious disagreement, an account of 
which Paul gives us in Gal, ii. 11-14. 

7. How can these disagreements and differences of view be rec- 
onciled with the idea of inspiration ? 

Inspiration, which has in it nothing of a moral quality, 
must not be confounded with Spiritual Illumination, by which 
one's whole soul undergoes a real change— passing from dark- 
ness to light and from the power of Satan unto God. One of 
these may exist wholly without the other, as in the case of 
Balaam and Caiaphas, both of whom prophesied though 
strangers to any moral change ; or they may coexist, though 
not in equal degrees, as in the case of the earlier Apostles 
who were the subjects of a perfect inspiration, though only as 
yet partially illuminated ; while they may be, on the other 
hand, experienced in their fullest measure, at once, as was 
illustrated in the case of the great Apostle of the Gentiles. 
Inspiration does not supersede or destroy i)ersonal idiosyncra- 
sies. It is a special Divine influence given for a special pur- 
pose, which elevates, but does not annul, individuality. In- 
spiration works no miracle in behalf of Truth, which is the 
instrument of the Hoi.v Spirit in the Soul's Illumination, and 
which must make its own way against existing prejudices and 
other obstacles according to the laws of the human mind— in 
Peter and James and others more slowly— in Paul, with that 
quickness of perception which was characteristic of the man. 

8. Did not this partial illumination of the early Apostles lead 
them to proclaim, a defective Gospel ? 

Yes ; it is true that at first they did not comprehend " the 
fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ," that freedom 
from the yoke of the ceremonial law which "the truth as it is 
in Jesus" brings to the believer, Jew and Gentile alike ; but 
it was such a measure of knowledge as for the time was suf- 



THE EPISTLES. 407 

ficient — as much as the Jews to whom the Gospel was first 
preached were able to bear. When the time came, however, 
for the Gospel to be proclaimed to the Gentiles, then, in Paul, 
who comprehended the philosophy of Christianity, and grasped 
the great spiritual ideas which make it what it is, God liad 
"a chosen vessel" ready to proclaim the Gospel in its fulness 
and freedom ; while by his vision (Acts x.), the supernatural 
being added to the natural for the purpose of making the 
lesson effective, Peter was brought also to embrace the "ad- 
vanced" and revolutionary views of the truth entertained and 
preached by Paul. And this is according to the method God 
had adopted from the beginning. His revelation being a grad- 
ual unfoldment of Divine truth, as the time w^as ripe for it, 
and as men were able to bear it. Spirituality is the highest 
stage in religious development, and is consequently, as a rule, 
a plant of slow growth. 

9. Does not the doctrine of inspiration demand absolute and 
final perfection in each writer, or in each individual? 

No ; the whole of revealed truth is to be gathered only from 
the whole of the Scriptures ; the statements of each writer 
may be partial and imperfect in point of fulness, while com- 
plete and perfect in point of truthfulness. As it requires the 
Four Gospels to give us a complete portraiture of our Divine 
Redeemer, so the whole of the New Testament is needful to 
give us a right conception of the truth of the Gospel. Truth, 
like Christ, is many-sided ; hence the Apostolic writers, 
though they are one in their faith, approach the hopes and 
promises of Christianity from different points of view ; eacli 
one, like the Evangelists, gives us a fresh aspect of the same 
glorious truth. The whole doctrine of the Church, therefore, 
is to be gathered, not from Paul alone, nor from John, nor 
from Peter, nor from James, nor from Jude, but from Jude, 
James, John, Peter, and Paul together — and all these together 
only as they are seen in the light of the life and words of 
Jesus Christ. The Epistles, however, being the product of 
the Holy Spirit, are of co-ordinate authority with the words 
of our Lord Himself. 

10. Have the limits of Divine revelation been reached ? 

Yes ; so far as this is necessary for life and salvation. The 
creed of Christendom is complete. The truths of morals and 



408 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

religion are few, and these are all set forth in the Bible we 
have. The Christ has come, and we need not look for another. 
There cannot be a greater or more perfect example of holy- 
living than Jesus Christ. There can be no more perfect ex- 
pression of hmiian duty than that in the Golden Rule, and 
there can be no higher formula of piety than that thou shalt 
love God with all your mind and soul. Nothing can exceed 
the glories of the future as set forth in the Scriptures we have. 
No ; there will be no more Bible, but there will be, doubtless, 
a growing interpretation, and a better understanding, of the 
one we have. The Bible is complete. There can be no addi- 
tion to the figures in the multiplication table, or letters to the 
alphabet, or notes in the musical scale ; but the new combina- 
tions by gifted minds in arithmetic, rhetoric, and music are 
illimitable. So of the Scriptures ; while the revelation is it- 
self complete, the general ideas will always wait a further un- 
folding. To no one person, or age, or set of men, has it been 
vouchsafed to know all the truth. The glories of the great 
Temple of Truth are unfading and its wealth inexhaustible. 

THE PAGAN WORLD. 

11. What in geiieraf irctR ihc moral and re/igioufi condition of 
the world ivhen the Oosx)cl — Christian! fi/ — ivas Jirst j^resented to 
it? 

Most deplorable and yet interesting. Heathenism or Gen- 
tilism and Judaism alike were in the last stages of decay. The 
whole head was sick, and the whole heart faint. Disgusted 
with the dominant but moribund religions, men were led to 
feel the need of some surer guide than either reason or tradi- 
tion, and some better foundation of confidence than either 
heathen philosophers or Jewish sects could afford. 

12. What in particular was the 7)%oral and religious ccndi- 
tion of the heathen world when the Qospcl found it f 

Men had no adequate knowledge of their nature and guilt ; 
while of God Himself, the heathens were no less lamentably 
ignorant. The objects of popular worship — the gods — em- 
bodied the vices of their worshippers ; so that religion itself, 
so far from possessing any good moral tendency, became the 
chief servant of licentiousness and vice. The resurrection of 



THE EPISTLES. 409 

the dead was universally rejected as ridiculous (Acts xvii. 32), 
wliile an immortality of the soul, iDroperly so called, none ad- 
mitted. Hence the actual moral and religious state of the 
nations, without the Gospel — a Divine Revelation — then as 
now — was just such as their ignorance and the corrupt tenden- 
cies in which that ignorance originated, might lead us to ex- 
pect (Rom. i. 18-32, and throughout the Epistles). 

13. How did the Goiipel propose to effect the regenercdion of 
the heathen world ? 

By the revelation of Jesus Christ and God in Him — the 
essence of the Gospel being the life and work of our Lord in 
man's behalf— of a perfect morality and of eternal life. Its 
design was not to make men more religious, but more ho\y. 
It proposed to regenerate society by remaking, as it were, the 
individual soul. Men were to be born again. The three 
devils of lust and greed and gain were to be cast out by the 
expulsive power, the dynamics of evangelical truth, and the 
New Life was to be cultivated by the sweet constraints of 
redeeming love. 

THE CHURCH. 

14. Through what agency was the luorld to be thus Evangel- 
ized ? 

The Church — that Divine institution which, while not a 
Caste, or a Secret Society, or a Nation, or a Familj^ possesses 
all the excellences of all of these with none of the objection- 
able features of any of them — an instituti(m organized and 
equipped for the salvation of the world— an institution which 
was then authoritatively directed in its work by the living voice 
of the Inspired Apostles, and now hy their Epistles, which 
remain as the permanent record of this part of their work. 

15. What is the Church f 

It is that Company, Bodj'', or Society of persons, called out 
from the world and bound to Jehovah in covenant relations, 
and in whom His spirit dwells as the Source of their excel- 
lence, and who exist on earth for the purpose of exhibiting the 
Divine Life and the hidden Order of Humanity : to destroj'^ 
evil and to assimilate Humanity to God, to penetrate and 
purify the world, and, as salt, preserve it from corruption. 



410 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

16. Is the Church a temporary institution f 

No ; as the agent in perpetuating the Divine Life among 
men, it lias an existence continuous tliroughout the ages ; con- 
tinuous, liowever, not on tlie principles of hereditary succes- 
sion or of human election, as in the ordinary corporation, but 
on the principle of spiritual similarity of character (John i. 13 ; 
Gal. iii. 7 ; Heb. xii. 23). 

17. How is the Church commonly distinguished? 
As visible and invisible. 

18. What is the basis of this distinction ? 

The Church invisible is composed of all those of any denomi- 
nation, and every denomination, or of no denomination, who, 
being spiritual, having the mind of Christ, fulfil the notion 
of the Ideal Church ; while the visible Church is the Ciiurch 
actual, as it exists in anj- particular age, embracing within it 
all who profess the Christian religion, whether they be proper 
or improper members of its body. 

19. What is meant by " the holy catholic Church''^ ? 

The word "catholic" simply means universal, and is there- 
fore only another name for the visible or universal Church. It 
is so called in contrast with the Jewish Church, which had 
primary reference to the Hebrew people ; while the Christian 
Church is not ret^tricted within any geographical limit or to 
any particular people, but is for all mankind (Gal. iii. 26-29). 
The monopoly of the word "catholic" by the Papal Church in 
all wrong, and it should be redeemed from so exclusive and 
unworthy an association. Instead of being, as they of Rome 
assume, the catholic Church, they are only a section, and a 
very corrupt section at that, of the Church Catholic. 

20. Do the various denominations represent different religions f 

They are often, in common parlance, frequently so spoken 
of; but this is a great mistake, as they are only so many 
branches of the one " holy catholic Church," of which Christ 
is the Centre and the Head. There is but One Christian 
Church. 



THE EPISTLES. 411 

21. What is the basis of comity between the various Christian 
denominations f 

In essentials, Unity ; in non-essentials, Liberty; and in all 
things. Charity. 



THE EPISTLES AND THE CHURCH. 

22. What relation do the Apostolic Epistles sustain to the 
Church ? 

They are the voice of the Spirit speaking within the Church 
to those who are themselves within it, certifying to them 
the true interpretations and applications of the princiiDles of 
thought and life which, as believers, they have received. 

23. What relation do the various ]jarts of the Bible sustain to 
the Great Fact of Human Salvation ? 

In the Old Testament we have the historic preparation for 
this grand supernatural Fact ; in the Gospels we have the 
Fact itself— Christ our Salvation ; w^hile in the Acts and the 
Epistles we have this same great Fact organizing itself into 
faith, life, history, force, the Church with its ministries and 
ordinances. 

24. What relation do the Epistles sustain to the Gospels ? 

The former are commentaries on the latter. The Epistles 
explain and apply what the Gospels describe. Our Lord's 
moral precepts, His doctrinal teaching, and His mediatorial 
acts, recorded in the Gospels, are the seeds out of which the 
teaching of the Apostolic Epistles have grown. In the Gospels 
-we have the Facts, in the Epistles the Doctrines — in the former 
the Foundations and in the latter the Superstructure— of the 
Christian Church ; while the historic Acts is the link of con- 
nection between the two. 

25. Why did GoD choose the epistolary form instead of the 
formal treatise or discourse for conveying so large a portion of 
His ivill to the Church f 

Being an exact medium between the familiar flow of ordinary 
discourse and the methodical precision of the essay, the Epistle 
may be said to unite all the characteristic advantages and avoid 



412 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Ihe peculiar deficiences of both. The discourse deals with 
matters in the general and abstract ; while letters, such as 
these, are written to meet the actual wants of living men, to 
give immediate answers to real questions and warnings against 
pressing dangers ; and full of the interests of the passing hour. 



FACTS ABOUT THE EPISTLES. 

2G. When were these Epistles written ? 

The earlier ones antedate the Gospels. Most of Paul's letters 
—Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Tliessalonians, tlie first to 
Timothy and the one to Titus— and the Epistle of James, were 
written before the Gospels and the Acts, between the years 50 
and GO a.d. The others, except John's, were written four or 
five years later ; while John's Epistles and the Fourth Gospel 
were not penned till close upon the end of the first century. 
These writings are among the "acts of the Apostles." 

27. Docs this collection of Letters contain all the Apostolic 
correspondence ? 

No ; but every letter which was in its nature adapted for the 
univenal church, an(l deemed necessary for her edification in 
holiness, has herein been i)reserved as a part of her Canon. 

28. To 7vhom are ihe Epistles addressed ? 

To Christians — that is, that is the character the persons ad- 
dressed are assumed to }H)ssess, whether in their collective 
ca,pacity as churches or as individuals. 

29. Ai'c these letters in the same form in which they were 
oriyinallij ivritten ? 

Yes ; their substantial integrity is unimpeached. No impor- 
tant changes have been made in any of them since they came 
from the hands of their authors. There may be, here and 
there, a word or two, or a verse (as 1 .John v. 7), which has been 
interpolated by some olficious copyist ; but with these trifling 
exceptions the Books in our hands are the very same Books 
which were in the hands of the contemporaries and successors 
of the Apostles. 



THE EPISTLES. 413 

30. What gave rise to these Apostolic Epistles f 

They arose from the necessity of correspondence as a substi- 
tute for the personal instruction of tlie Apostles witli tlie 
widening of their field of labor. These letters took the place 
of tracts among us. They were born of existing emergencies. 
Notwithstanding this, however, the problems discussed and 
solved therein being referred to universal principles, and thus 
instinct with life and power, these Apostolic Epistles are of 
permanent value to the Church. 

31. Hoiv may these Epistles he divided? 

Into three classes : (1) Congregational— those addressed to a 
particular Church and dealing with doctrinal and i^ractical 
questions ; (2) Private — those directed to individuals, but still 
containing exhortation and advice fitted for many ; and (3) 
General — those not addressed to any particular Church or in- 
dividual, but to Christians in general, and, therefore, of uni- 
versal application. 

32. What is the key-thought of each of these Jive A2yostolic 
writers f 

Paul treats of Faith, and James, his counterpart and comple- 
ment, of Works ; Peter deals with Hope, and John with Love ; 
while Jude sounds the trumpet of warning against Apostasy. 

33. How are these twenty-one Ejnstles commonly designated f 

As Pauline and Catholic. As, however, the word catholic is 
rather misleading, and since the Pauline Epistles are twice as 
many as the others, a more natural classification would seem 
to be — the Pauline and non-Pauline Epistles. 

34. How long did the Apostolic j^eriod last, and how may it 
be divided f 

It lasted from 30 to 100 A.D.— seventy j'ears. It ended with 
the death of John about the close of the first Christian century. 
This space of seventy years may be divided into three periods : 
(1) The founding of the Church among the Jews — the labors of 
Peter ; (2) the founding of the Church among the Gentiles — 
the labors of Paul and his colleagues ; (3) the organic union 
of Jewish and Gentile Christianity in one fixed, independent 
whole — the work of John, who is thence styled the Apostle of 
the Completion. 



414 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE PAULINE EPISTLES. 

PAUL. 

1. Who was Paulf 

The Great Missionary Bishop of the World (Acts xiii.-xxviii.). 
A most bigoted and intolerant Jew (Phil. iii. 4-6), he became, 
by his conversion, the most liberal and magnanimous of Chris- 
tians. Experiencing a complete mental and moral revolution, 
from an intense hater of Christ and a violent persecutor of 
all who bore His Name, he became the most devoted friend and 
faithful servant of the Saviour ; and, from the hour of his con- 
version, during the remaining thirty years of his life, which 
was a prolonged but joyous martyrdom, exhibiting a heroism 
and self-denial unparalleled in the history of the world, he 
consecrated his whole energies, his entire being, to making 
Jesus known to his fellow-men, and in establishing His king- 
dom in the world. A reliable tradition has it that, sealing his 
testimony with his blood, he sutiered martyrdom at Rome in 
the Neronian persecution in G8 a.d. (2 Tim. iv. 6-8). 

2. ^V^lat are the salient features in the life of Paul ? 

He was an Hebrew of the Hebrews, a relentless persecutor, a 
genuine convert, an illustrious Christian, a thorough theolo- 
gian, a model missionary, a faithful pastor, a great preacher, a 
true philanthropist, a noble martyr, and a glorious saint. 

3. What legaey did Paul bequeath to the CJairch f 

His apostolic life, and these immortal Letters, in which, as 
in no other writings, we are refined and exalted by "the 
thoughts which breathe and words that burn." Leaving to the 
Church, in her government and discipline, his prophetic words 
to be her Living Oracles in all ages, the name of this great 
Apostle to the Gentiles stands pre-eminent among the glorious 
company of the Apostles, among the goodly fellowship of the 
Prophets, among the noble army of Martyrs, as the great 
teacher of a universal redemption — the herald of Glad Tidings 
to all mankind. 

4. How does Paul stand among the great men of the world f 

Second only to his Divine Master, Paul takes rank with 
Moses as one of the three persons who stand pre-eminent 



THE PAULINE EPISTLES. 415 

among their fellows, and who, by their lives and labors, have 
placed the world under the most weighty and lasting obliga- 
tions—Moses, Christ, Paul. 

5. How does Paul compare with John as a wr'lter f 

These are, facile j^rinceps, admittedly the chief, the original 
theologians of the New Testament. They are, however, as dif- 
ferent as possible in their methods and conceptions, Paul being 
thoroughly dialectic, and John as wholly intuitive. This con- 
trast will at once appear if we compare the Epistle to the 
Romans with that of First John. The richness, the many- 
sidedness, the impetuosity, the human individuality of the one 
are as unlike as jDossible to the few but reiterated key-notes, the 
unity, the sovereign, the spiritual idealism of the other. 

THE LETTERS. 

6. Hbio TYiany letters did Paul contribute to the Epistolary 
collection in the New Testament f 

Thirteen certainly, and probably fourteen ; that is, two-thirds 
of the whole number. If, however, in addition to being 
counted, these letters are also weighed and measured by their 
prodigious influence upon the Church and the world, this 
great-souled Apostle is entitled to a much larger credit than 
this proportion would indicate. 

7. Wliat significance is to be attached to the fact that Paul is 
the author of «o laiye a part of the New Testament f 

It can hardly be regarded in any other light than that, of all 
the Apostles, the views of Christianity entertained and put 
forth by that Apostle are the most characteristic of the Chris- 
tian sj^stem, and are designed largely to shape the religion of 
the Future. Next to the Saviour Himself, the spirit and mind 
of Paul dominate the New Testament. 

8. What gave to these Pauline Epistles their 2^eculiar tone and 
color ? 

The contest in which he was continually engaged with the 
Judaizing tendencies of his time. As he was emphatically the 
Apostle of the Gentiles, he treats largely of the mystery of their 
call to equal privileges with the believing Jews. He main- 



416 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

tains their freedom from the Mosaic yoke (Acts xv. 1), urges 
tlieni to stand fast in their Uberty, and to prove by their obedi- 
ent hves tlieir Subjection to the great Law of Faitli and Love. 

9. Whatfou?' ideas in these Upistlcs are distinctively Pauline ? 

SpirituaUty instead of mere ceremony (Gal. v. 6 ; vi. 15) ; 
Democracy — all Humanity, and not a privileged people (Col. 
iii. 11 ; Gal. iii. 28, 29) ; a Pure Life and not mere Orthodoxy 
(1 Cor. vii. 19) ; and Personal Attachment to Jesus Christ as 
the supreme motive to a holy life (2 Cor. v. 14 ; Phil. i. 21 ; 
Heb. xiii. 8). Spirituality ! Democracy ! A new Life ! and 
Jesus Christ ! In Paul's bosom, more than in any other 
human heart, were planted these four great ideas — four rivers 
in the Paradise of true religion — the four great ideas, the 
entlironement and incarnation of which will constitute the 
coming glory — the Golden Age — of Christianity and the com- 
ing blessedness of man. 

10. Against luhat prevailing errors does this Ax)Ostle vigor- 
ously contend in these Epistles ? ' 

Formalism and philosophy. These errors assumed various 
l)hases, though representing but one principle: Ritualism 
witliout spirituality; Knowledge without practice; Justifica- 
tion by faith witliout holiness. This is, in fact, the princii^le 
of licentious religionism of our own and every age. 

11. What is the style of PauVs Uj^istles ? 

Owing to the rapidity with which his thoughts crowded 
upon him— almost too fast for utterance— his sentences are 
frequently broken, elliptical, parenthetical and involved ; and 
therefore, as Peter says (2 Peter iii. 15, 16), in them there are 
" some things hard to be understood ;" while if from the Man- 
ner we proceed to the Matter— from the shell to the kernel— 
and consider the general contour, the sublimity of the thoughts, 
the boldness and richness of the conceptions, the aptness and 
beauty of the imagery, we shall not fail to perceive all the 
marks of a true and sacred eloquence. 

12. What is a peculiar characteristic of all PauVs Epistles ? 

Every one of them was written to meet some emergency, and 
therefore they all bear the imiDrint of an historical occasion. 



THE PAULINE EPISTLES. 417 

Each epistle has a clearly defined fundaiuental idea which 
governs every part of it. They are tracts for his time, and 
yet tracts for all times and all congregations and individuals. 

13. What is the general plan of these Epistles 9 

First, to consider and decide the Controversies, or refute the 
Errors w^hich had occasioned their writing ; and Second, to en- 
join the observance of those Moral Duties which are binding 
on Christians in every age, with reference, however, chiefly to 
those virtues which existing dis^^utes or errors might lead 
them to neglect. 

14. How may each Epistle he divided f 

Into two joarts — doctrinal and jDractical ; the bond of con- 
nection between the one part and the other being, as a rule, 
the illative particle Therefore. 

15. Are the Pauline Epistles placed in the Canon in the order 
in whicJi they luere written ? 

Unfortunately they are not, and there does not seem to be 
any sort of justification for their chronological misplacement, 
which it is hoped some day may be corrected. The probable 
order in which these letters were written is : The Thessalonians, 
which were beyond doubt the very first of all the New Testa- 
ment writings to see the light, the Corinthians, Galatians, 
Romans, Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, First 
Timothy, Titus, and Second Timothy. 

16. When luere these letters written ? 

Between a.d. 52 and 68, covering a period of sixteen years. 

17. Are the subscriptloiis at the close of these letters in our 
Bible ap)art of the original Epistles'? 

They are not, and in several cases they are erroneous. They 
embody conjectures of later copyists, or traditions which are 
without foundation. These subscriptions are not found in the 
Revised New Testament. 

18. Hoiu did Paul write his letters? 

He dictated them to an amanuensis. Hence we have as a 
part of the Epistle his authenticating autograph, as at the 

27 



418 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

close of Second Thessalouians — "The Siilutation of Paul with 
mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle : so I 
write." 

19. Has the genuineness of any of the Pauline letters been 
doubted ? 

Yes ; modern criticism disputes the genuineness of nine of 
the thirteen or fourteen of Paul's Epistles, assigning to them a 
much later date than the days of that Apostle. The Epistle 
to the Galatians, that to the Romans, and the two to the Corin- 
thians alone are conceded to be genuine — the product of the 
mind of Paul. The others, however. Christian scholarship has 
shown to be just as genuine as these. 

20. What are the themes of the Pauline Epistles f 

Tliat of Romans is Justification by Faith ; of the two Corinth- 
ians, Congregational Complications ; of Galatians, Christian 
Liberty ; of Ephesians, Electing Love ; of PliiHppians, Chris- 
tianity as a Personal Experience ; of Colossians, Christian Com- 
pleteness in Christ ; of the Thessalouians, The Second Coming 
of Christ ; of those to Timothy and Titus, Counsels to Young 
Ministers; of Philemon, Christian Emancipation; and of 
Hebrews, The Priesthood of Christ. 

21. How do the distinctive features of the Pauline letters com- 
pare with the non-Pauline Epistles? 

Paul dwells, not of course exclusively, but predominantly'^, 
on Christian doctrine, James on Christian practice, Peter on 
Christian trials, and John on Christian experience ; Paul in- 
sists mainly on faith, James on works, Peter on hope, and John 
on love ; Paul represents the spirit of Protestantism, Peter that 
of Catholicism, while James speaks in the voice of the Church 
of the Past, and John in that of the Church of the Future ; 
Peter is the founder, Paul the propagator, John the finisher ; 
Peter represents to us the glory of power and action, Paul that 
of thought and wisdom, James of virtue and faithfulness, 
John of emotion and holiness. Again, to James Christianity 
appears as the fulfilment of the Old Law, to Peter as the com- 
pletion of the old Theocracy, to Paul as the completion of the 
old Covenant, to the author of the Hebrews as the completion 
of the old Worship and Priesthood, to John as the completion 
of all the truths which the world possessed. 



THE PAULINE EPISTLES. 



419 



22. What two things are clear from these generalizations f 

First, that in every essential each of the sacred writers held 
the catholic faith — that is, the faith of the Church imiversal 
— one and indivisible, which is no more altered by their vary- 
ing individuality than Light is altered in character, because 
we sometimes see it glowing in the heavens, and sometimes 
flashing from the sea. Second, that in all these writers alike 
we see the beauty of holiness, the regenerating power of Chris- 
tian truth. 

23. What is a common characteristic of this collection of 
Letters f 

They all (Hebrews excepted) begin with the names of the 
writer and those to whom the Epistle is addressed. This is 
followed by the Salutation or Christian greetings. Then the 
letter itself, closing with personal messages and the authen- 
ticating autograph of the Apostle. 

24. What is the grand central thing in all the Pauline 
Epistles 9 

The Cross of Christ (Gal. vi. 14 ; 1 Cor. ii. 2). 

25. ITow Tnay the names of PauVs Letters be arranged in the 
Cross so as to aid in recalling them to mind 9 

By placing the first syllable of Romans and the Corinthians 
in the top of the Cross, the initial of the next four — Galatians, 
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians — in the transverse or hori- 
zontal piece, and that of the remaining ones — Thessalonians, 
Timotliy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews — in the stem or lower 
perpendicular part, we have the following mnemonic — Roco- 
Gepc (pronounced Gepcy), three T's, a P, and an H. 





RO 
CO 




c 


5EP( 






T 
T 
T 
P 
H 





420 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

ROMANS. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

1 . To whom ivas this Epistle addressed f 

To the community of Christians residing in the metropolis 
of that great Empire, whose dominion then extended over 
almost the whole known world — Rome, the centre of Christi- 
anity in the West. 

2. At what time was the Gospel first preached in the Imperial 
City ? 

This is a matter which is involved in hopeless obscurity. 
Prior to the time when the Apostle wrote this letter (a.d. 58), 
it could not have been longer, however shorter may have been 
the time, than twenty-tive years from the time of Pentecost 
(Acts ii. 10). That it was at an early period may be inferred 
from the circumstance that, when this letter wks written, the 
faith of the Roman Christians " was spoken of throughout the 
whole world" (i. 8). 

3. Bi/ ivhom was the Gospel first 2^rcached and the Church 
founded at Home f 

Strange to say, this matter is as much involved in obscurity 
as the (juestion as to the time. The community seems to have 
grown up in silence. The first we know about it, it is there. 
Tlie tradition that Peter was the founder of this Church and 
the Bishop of the 8ee of Rome is utterly unreliable. 

4. How can it he m.ade to appear that Peter was never at 
Rome f 

When that Apostle is alleged to have been in Rome, from 
the Acts we learn that he was then in Jerusalem. Neither in 
this letter nor in any of the others which the Apostle Paul 
wrote from there, is there the slightest intimation that Peter 
either was then, or had been at any previous time, in Rome. 
Had he been there at all, and especially had he been the 
founder of the Cliurch and Pope to boot, this silence on the 
part of Paul would admit of no explanation. It may be re- 
garded as settled that Peter never was in Rome at all, and that 
whoever were God's unknown agents in planting the Church 



ROMANS. 421 

there, it was neither Peter nor any other Apostle ; though 
from the salutations in xvi. the probability is strong that they 
were the disciples of Paul — persons converted under his min- 
istry either in Asia Minor or Southern Europe. 

5. Of what elemenU was the Church at Rome comi^osed 9 

It contained a considerable number of converts from Judaism 
(ii., iii.) ; but the majority were clearly of Gentile origin (i. 13 ; 
XV. 14-16) ; though it is not impossible that the two elements 
may have existed in nearly equal proportions. 

6. In what respect does the Epistle to the Romans differ from 
those to the Corinthians and Galatians f 

This is more of a general character, addressed to the people 
before the Apostle had met with them, and not written to 
answer any questions or to settle any existing controversies 
then rife at Rome ; while the others are direct and special, 
evoked by present emergencies, and are full of personal appli- 
cations. 

7. What words and ideas are kept prominent in, and are 
characteristic of this Epistle to the Romans ^ 

Law and justice. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he 
gave prominence to Wisdom, for the Greeks sought after wis- 
dom—philosophy. Rome, however, was the city of imperial 
law, and the great seat of jurisprudence and government. It 
was therefore fitting that to the Jews and Gentiles residing 
there should be addressed this demonstration of the position 
of mankind as transgressors condemned by Divine Law and 
Justice, and unable by deeds to justify themselves. The world 
centred at Rome ; and in a letter sent to Rome was the whole 
world proved and pronounced to be "guilty before God" (iii. 
19, 20). To those in Rome, moreover— in Rome, the mistress of 
the world and the embodiment of Pozt'er— he announces the 
Gospel as the Supreme Power in the world— the Power of God 
unto Salvation (i. 16, 17). 

8. W^iat was the occasion of the writing of this Epistle to the 
Romans f 

The Apostle had long been intending to visit the Roman 
Church, which by its situation was of necessity the most im- 



422 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

portant Christian community in tiie world. Tliis desire had 
hitherto been tliwarted. Meanwhile the tidings somehow 
reach him that the Jew and Gentile elements were not in 
Christian accord. Availing himself of this information, as the 
Apostle to the Gentiles, he proceeds in this letter to set forth 
to them the whole dispensation of God's grace both to the 
Gentile and the Jew. To this thwarted desire of the Apostle 
to visit Rome, it may be added, we owe subordinately this 
Epistle, which is a blessing for all time. Three years after this 
letter was written, in the beginning of A.D. 61, the Apostle 
arrived in person a prisoner at Rome. 

9. ]V7iai is the scope and design of this Epistle ? 

The Jews at Rome, undoubtedly, as elsewhere, insisted 
upon the Gentiles coming into the Christian Church by sub- 
mitting to the yoke of the Mosaic law (Acts xv. 1), while the 
more enlightened Gentile convert was inclined to treat the 
lingering scruples of the Jew with contempt (xiv. 3). The 
main scope and design therefore of the Apostle is to annul for- 
ever the claim of the Mosaic law to a perpetual authority, and 
to show that, by a more excellent way, all, Jew and Gentile 
alike, may become the children of God — "through faith in 
Christ Jesus." 

10. What is the nature of this production of Paul ? 

Doctors differ as to this. By some it is regarded as that 
which it professes to be and undoubtedly is, an epistle, a letter; 
bj^ others it is looked upon as a regular treatise, a system of 
Theology, a complete statement of religious truth. The most 
didactic of the Apostle's writings, treating, as it does, of the 
central points of the Christian system, with more than his 
usual completeness and symmetrj^ it may perhaps be best 
described as a sort of a cross between a set discourse and a 
letter, partaking somewhat of the attributes of both. 

11. What estimate is put upon the Romans as a literary 
work f 

It is generally conceded to be the masterpiece of one of the 
greatest intellects of the world. Coleridge characterizes it as 
*'the most profound work in existence." Tholuck saw in it 
" a Christian philosophy of universal history ;" while Luther 



ROMANS. 423 

pronounced it the chief Book of tlie New Testament, and the 
purest Gospel, It certainly stands unrivalled hj" any mere 
human composition, and as far exceeds the most celebrated 
productions of the learned Greeks and Romans — of the De- 
mostheneses and the Ciceros — as the shining sun exceeds the 
twinkling of the stars. 

12. ]Vhat is the comparative influence of this letter of Paul 
to the Romans upon the religious thought of the tvorld 9 

It has shaped the theology of the orthodox world more than 
all the rest of the Bible. The Gosi)els and Paul's ethical let- 
ters have influenced the piety of Christian ages ; the writings 
of John have nourished the mysticism and romance of ages ; 
but the systematic theology has undoubtedly been Pauline. 
It is the very arsenal of Calvinism itself, whether rightly or 
wrongly interpreted. Tiiere is no end to the commentaries, 
treatises, and sernaons on this Epistle already in print, and 
still there are more to follow. 

13. What was the aim and purpose of this Epistle ? 

To establish and defend against all objections, perversions, 
and abuses, the one comprehensive but individual proposition 
— the fundamental doctrine of the Christian system — Salv^a- 
tion by Grace through Faith, as opposed not only to Jewish 
legalism, but to any and every form of legalism that detracts 
from Salvation by Grace on God's part, and through faith on 
man's part. Other themes are, of course, touclied upon and 
discussed, but only incidentally, as they grow out of, and are 
related to, this grand central and all dominating idea. 

14. To ivhom does the Apostle immediately address himself f 

Here again Doctors differ : some think he has Jewish Chris- 
tians before his mind, and others Gentiles, and still others 
that he is thinking neither of Jew or Gentile as such, but of 
man as a sinner, lost and condemned, both Jew and Gentile. 
That Paul, however, considers himself as the Apostle of the 
"uncii^cumcision," addressing inainly a Gentile people, is clear 
enough from the introduction, and various other passages 
throughout the Epistle (xi. 13 ; xv. 15-21) ; while at the same 
time he soars above all differences of nationalities, religions, 
languages, and culture, and beholds at his feet all humanity 



424 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



and the whole course of its history ; and from this himinous 
sphere, where his spirit dwells, he causes to descend to those 
vast regions filled with the darkness of sin, of suffering, and 
of death, the Glory of Salvation. 

15. In tvhat spirit does the Ajwstle address himself to this 
composition ? 

Himself emancipated from the galling yoke and oppressive 
bondage of the law (vii.), and exulting in the glorious freedom 
of the Gospel (viii.), the Apostle enters upon and prosecutes his 
work from beginning to end with the earnestness of an advocate 
pleading for a verdict, or a lover who wishes to win the heart 
of tlie object of his affections. His tlioughts at white heat, he 
is far enough from the philosophic calm of the dogmatic theo- 
logian who quietly and without emotion elaborates a system 
of religious truth, arranging his matter in its divisions and 
subdivisions ! No ; the Apostle is here a combatant, a pleader, 
and advocate, a preacher, contending for one grand idea,.earn- 
est to prove its truth, on fire in his inmost soul with the love 
of it, striving from the first word to the last of his whole dis- 
cussion to persuade his readers to accept it, and to realize in 
themselves its life-giviug power. 



KEY-WORDS AND DEFINITIONS. 

IG. WJiat are dominant words in the Epistle to the Romans ? 

Gospel, wliich may be said to be a purely Pauline word, as, 
out of the 100 times it occurs in the New Testament, it is used 
74 times by this Apostle. It is found 13 times in this Epistle. 

Grace, which is also a Pauline word, occurring about the 
same number of times in the New Testament as Gospel, and 
nearly in the same proportion in Paul's writings as that word, 
being 21 times used in this Epistle. 

KIGHTEOUSXI3SS, whicli also occurs about 100 times in the 
New Testament, three-fourths of which are in the writings of 
this Apostle. It is found 35 times in this Epistle. 

Fattii occurs in this Epistle 37 times, the verb Believe 24 
times, Justify 13 times, Just 4 times, Justification 3 times, 
Laav 67 times, in the first eight chapters Sin 39 times, and 
Flesh 22 times, mostly also in the early part of the Epistle. 



ROMANS. 425 

17. What is the Gosjoel in PauVs view f 

It is pre-eminently Glad Tidings— a message of salvation for 
all that call themselves men — a manifestation of Divine Power 
and a revelation of Divine Righteousness (i. 16, 17). More par- 
ticularly, the Gospel is a Threefold message — of Forgiveness, 
Holiness, Blessedness ; a Twofold message — Christ's work 
for us, in living and dying, i)leading and reigning ; and 
Christ's work in us, beginning in Grace and ending in Glory ; 
a Single message — of Christ as crucified — the Substitute for 
Sinners— the concentrated revelation of the Divine holiness 
and love, the Redeemer and Comforter, the pattern and sancti- 
fier of us all. 

18. What is Gfrace in PauVs conception f 

In its generic sense the word simply means favor ; and when 
dispensed to sinners it is favor to the undeserving, just as mercy 
is shown to the guilty. It is Paul's way of saying that tlie 
salvation of sinners on the part of God, from first to last, is 
wholly gratuitous, sovereign, free. He was under no obliga- 
tions to save a single one, or to bestow any of His gifts upon 
any. No soul can in any way, in and of himself, establish any 
claim upon God. If He saves it is wholly a matter of grace, 
which stands opposed in the Pauline theology to every form 
of legalism, to any and every claim of merit that the sinner can 
set up. Paul is pre-eminently the Doctor of Free Grace (iv. 4, 
16; xi. 6). 

19. Wliat are the essentials of that Bighteousness revealed in 
the Gospel f 

The fundamental idea of Righteousness is that which satis- 
fies the demands of justice or of law. Evangelical Righteous- 
ness is the Righteousness of God, and consists of two distinct, 
though inseparable, parts : (1) Christ as our Substitute and 
His work /or us, which is imputed to us or set over to our 
account as that alone which can secure justification ; and (2) 
Christ's work in us, whereby His imputed righteousness be- 
comes imparted righteousness — that is, actual holiness, in the 
case of the believer. 

20. What is meant hy the terms Just, Justifij, and Justifica- 
tion ? 

The whole tone of this Epistle is forensic, legal ; and these 



426 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

terms are descriptive of that Divine act and its results, whereby 
the sinner conies into possession of that Righteousness which 
is the groundwork of his salvation. The whole transaction is 
conceived of as a judicial process. The holy and just God is 
the Judge ; the law of God — the Moral Law — the accuser ; the 
sinner or transgressor of the law, the accused ; the Conscience 
the witness ; Christ the Advocate and Substitute for tlie 
accused ; the Sacrifice of Christ, the price of Redemption ; 
faitli the instrument, the spiritual hand of the penitent sinner, 
by wliich these merits are appropriated. 

21. In what does this justification consist ? 

It consists of two parts : (1) Negative, the judicial sentence 
of God, in which the sinner for Christ's sake is declared to be 
no longer guilty in His sight ; tliat is. He therein pronounces 
the sinner pardoned, forgiven ; and (2) Positive, tlie imputa- 
tion of the Righteousness of Christ to the penitent, believing 
sinner. It is thus that the sinner is accepted in the Beloved. 

22. What is the necessary counterpart of this Divine act of 
justification f 

Sanctification— the work of the Holy Spirit in us, whereby 
Christ, Who was made over to us for Rigliteousness, becomes 
also our Sanctification, and actual Redemption from the power 
and pollution of sin. Where there is no evidence of sanctifica- 
tion, there can be no justification. The two, while not to be 
confounded, as in the Romanist theology, are nevertheless in- 
separable, the one following the other as certainly as the sun- 
flower does the sun. 

23. How is the term, " Law'''' to he understood in tliis Epistle ? 

Variously, according to the context. In ii. 12-14, where the 
word first occurs, it means a Divine Revelation ; in ii. 15, it 
refers to the principles of reason, or the natural moral law 
written in man's heart — Conscience ; in ii. 25 and vii. 7 it refers 
to the Decalogue or Ten Words, the Moral Law, which is 
doubtless its most general sense throughout the Epistle ; in iii. 
27 the "law of faith" means the doctrines of the Gospel; in 
iii. 28 it is difficult to say in which sense it is used, whether of 
the whole Old Testament, or the Ceremonial law, or the Ten 
Commandments ; it may, indeed, be here taken comprehen- 



ROMANS. 427 

sively, as the declaration is true of it in all three senses ; in vii. 
23, 25, it means a tendency of onr nature, a principle which, 
unchecked, operates with all the force and regularity of a law, 
as in the physical world. 

24. What is sin? 

It is a general name for all kinds of moral badness. It is 
any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the Moral Law. 
Any manner of wickedness, as adultery, fornication, unclean- 
ness, lasciviousness, revellings, murder, drunkenness, and all 
such works of the flesh, may be spelled with these three 
letters— Sin. 

25. What sense is to be attached to the term ^^Jlesh^^ in this 
Epistle f 

Like the word Law it must be understood in different senses 
according to the context. In i. 3 it obviously means human 
nature ; in ii. 28 and iv. 1, it refers to externalism in religion, 
rites and ceremonies, penances and the like, as opposed to 
what is internal, that is, real, spiritual life ; in vii. 5 and viii. 
8 it means the Adamic man, unregenerate human nature ; and 
in iii. 20 it is a universal term for all humanity, and means no 
man, Jew or Gentile. 

26. What is Faith? 

It is the instrument of our Justification. It is the hand of 
the soul by which it receives the grace of salvation. We are 
"justified by faith" not as the meritorious ground of our ac- 
ceptance with God, but as that which places us on that ground. 
Faith, as an act of ours, is no more the meritorious ground of 
our justification than any other of our performances ; for, if it 
were, we should still be justified by works, as faith is as much 
a work as penitence. It is God that justifies through Christ, 
and Faith is the link that unites us to Him as the sole ground 
of our Justification. 

27. What false conceits of the Jews are controverted in this 
Epistle ? 

These are mainly three : (1) That they are safe, though 
wicked, simply because they are Jews— descendants of Abra- 
ham ; (2) That the l)lessings of the Messiah's reign were to be 



42S THE TKMPLE OPENED. 

oontinod to Jews and those who would consent to Ivoome 
pri>selytes, that is, Jews by adoption ; and (o) That subjection 
to heathen nuiiiist rates was inconsistent with the diirnity of 
the people of jKiiovAii, and with their duty to the Messiah 

as King. 

28. W/iaf nininprincipUs are e^^tablL<hed in this Epistle t 

Five: (1) All men are sinful — Jews and CTontiles. (2) GOD 
will punish Sin wituout respect to pei-sons or nationalities. 
Jkjiovah is not provincial, but universal; He has one moral 
gi>vernment for all mankind. (3) The same is true of His 
favor— the dispensiition of His grace. It is not national favor- 
itism: it is moral sympathy with the human race. ^4) That 
(iOi> is impartial in His Jtidgment of men, the standard Iving 
not the Bible where a Bible is not, but according to their 
works, and according to the light they severally enjoyed (ii. 
1 lN). {^o) That CiiHiST as a living force builds up men in 
righttHnisness, as no dead formalism or extended system of 
rules and rituals can. All that the Law means Christ means ; 
but what the Law cannot do, in that it is weak through 
human depravity, a Living, Loving CiiKiST can do (viii. 3, 4). 



THEME AND DIVISIONS. 

129. }Muit is the final enii mni aim oj the Apostle in this 

J-:pisf(e.^ 

KuJii rKt>i"SNh:ss— the productiiMi o( holiness in men— the 
porfeclion of nioral manhoiHl. He stvs but two thing's: on 
the tme side man nuiler comlemnation — Lost, and on the other, 
Salrution by CuKisT ; autl his unique aim in this letter is {o 
bring this man and this salvation together: to make one 
whole by the boi\ds of faith. 

30. What is the agenci/ bt/ trhieh the Apostle would achieee 
this ^reat end f 

The Gospel «>f (^iiKiST, the grt\it cardinal principle and nu>- 
tive fiHw in which is JrsriKir.v Tiox nv Faith— and by faith 
alone. This is his theme. He is the herald of a liospel whieh 
ejulnxlies a scheme by which alone any man can be s:ived, and 
by which every man niaj/ l»e siived (i. U». 17). 



ROMANS. 420 

31. How rnnij the confcnfs of this Epistle Iw divided? 

Into two groat parts : (1) The Doctrinal (i.-xi.) ; and (2) the 
Practical (xii.-xvi.). 

DOCTRINAL DIVISION. 

32. How may the doctrinal }^art be divided f 

Into three sections: (1) The Preface (i. 15); (2) the discns- 
sion of justification and its conseciuences (i. 16-viii.) ; and (3) 
the calling of tlie Gentiles, the rejection and future conversion 
of the Jews (ix.-xi.). 

33. Of ivhat is the Preface composed ? 

The Apostolic Address and Salutation, his gratulation for 
the faith of the Roman Cliristians, the expression of his sense 
of obligation to all classes of men as the possessor of the un- 
searchable riches of Christ, and of his purpose to visit Rt)me. 

34. What is PauVs conception in his Address and /Salutation ? 

It would seem as if he had before his mind the metropolitan 
majesty of the imperial city of Rome, and set against it the 
majesty of the great revelation of the Son of God, the fultil- 
ment of the world-long promise, the first-born from the dead. 
He looked upon all the world obedient to the sway of Rome, 
and he thought upon that wider and grander Obedience of 
F'aith which should bring imder its sway all nations of the 
earth. There is not a grander thing in literature than this 
opening of the Epistle of the Romans (i. 1-7). 

35. What is the view of the Person of Christ which Paul 
gives in his Salutatori/ f 

He declares Him to he the Lord not only of the Jews, as Son 
of David, but of the entire world, as Son of God, declared so to 
be by His resurrection from the dead — the Prince Imperial of 
the Universe. It is the Gospel of such an One he is commis- 
sioned to preach, and of which he is the happy possessor. 

36. How many ways of scdvcUion are possible to nienf 

Two: the way of Works and the way of Faith — the legal 
method :ind tlie method of grace — complete obedience or salva- 
tion by Christ. 



430 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

37. How docs the Ajiostle show that his way is the only wcuj of 
salvation for men ? 

He demonstrates (1) Negatively, that on the legal method 
there is no salvation either for the Gentiles (i. 18-32), or for the 
Jews (il.-iii. 20) ; but then, the night of condemnation being 
succeeded by the dawn of the day of salvation, he proceeds (2) 
Positively, to unfold the Divine metliod of salvation— the way 
of grace as taught in the Gospel (iii. 21-v. 21). The passage 
iii. 21-25, which is the very soul of the Gospel, containing the 
whole scheme of salvation in a brief paragraph, is the key of 
this whole Epistle to the Romans. 

38. What is that feature of the Gospel in which Paul so greatly 
rejoiced f 

Its universality conditioned only upon faith. All may be 
saved who are willing to be saved. The condition is such as 
may be complied with by all men. The Pauline Gospel is 
therefore a Gospel of Conditional Universahty (i. 16 ; xi. 32). 

39. For ivhat is the first chapter of Romans remarkable ? 

The vivid picture of the sinfulness of mankind it contains. 
It is not a picture of a retined kind of sin— that of culture, of 
subtle and graceful selfishness, but undisputed, gross, unnani- 
able sin, the sin of the passions and appetites— not venial sins, 
such as the violation of Moses's ritual, but violations of the 
UNIVERSAL Moral Law. Nor is it one whit overwrought, but 
true to the life, as competent authorities aver. 

40. What two great things are revealed in the Gospel f 

The Righteousness of God and the Wrath of God (i. 17, 18). 

41. What relation does iv. and v. sustain to the great subject 
of justification by faith ? 

The general argument closed at iii. 30 ; but it is supported 
and confirmed by evidences drawn from Old Testament history 
as connected with the life of Abraham (iv. ) ; while in v. 1-11 
we have set forth certain results iu blessing, or the blessed 
consequences of justification by faith. 

42. For what is the passage v. 12-21 remarkable f 

It contains one of the grandest of all possible generalizations 
—one that takes in the beginning, and the middle, and the end 



ROMANS. 431 

of all human history. It is all-comprehensive in its sweep and 
scope. All the sin, sorrow, and death that exists are traced up 
to the one natural head of the race, Adam ; and all the right- 
eousness, and joy, and life that man can attain, are traced up 
to its spiritual Head, even Christ. The Gospel is as far- 
reaching as the curse — justification being open to all men, 
without limitation to any one nation — with the same univer- 
sality as that which is seen in the results of Adam's sin. 

43. What is the relation of vi. to the tnain argument of the 
Epistle f 

It is an answer to the objection that Paul's, doctrine of gra- 
tuitous justification leads to immorality. He argues that 
breaking with ritualism does not lead to lawlessness ; that 
faith in Christ is more powerful for holiness than ritualism. 
Grace does not lead to laxitj^ ; on the contrary, faith as distin- 
guished from legalism or works of the law inspires holiness. 
Christ is not a minister of sin, but the contrary. We are 
none the less debtors to the law because Christ became our 
ransom. We have only changed masters, and are now under 
Christ instead of Moses. 

44. How does vii. bear upon the demonstration of the Ap>os- 
tle's main p)rop>osition ? 

It serves to show the utter hopelessness of the law as a 
means of procuring life and salvation. Reciting his own ex- 
perience as a sincere Jew, the Apostle says the Law had indeed 
revealed sin unto him, but without aiding him to overcome it. 
Under this master he was sensible of his chains only to feel 
more grievously their weight. "O wretched man that I am, 
who shall deliver me?" This cry of distress was all that he 
had learned in the School of the Law, which in itself was, 
nevertheless, holy, and just, and good ; but Heaven responded 
to his cry. The Deliverer is come. The Spirit of Life, which 
is in Christ Jesus, and by which his justification in Christ 
has been sealed, has at last broken his chains and he is free ! 

45. In what form is vii. cast ? 

In both form and feeling it is dramatic. It is an Iliad. It 
might be called the Battle of the Soul ivith Sin — of the New Man 
against the Old Adam. The battle is joined. The conflict 



432 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

rages. The Law cojnes upon the scene as an aid to the Soul ; 
but, though good in itself, it proves to be a hinderance rather 
than a help, in fact, unwittingly plays into the hands of the 
enemy, for the strength of sin was in it. Sin, plumed with 
darkness, pushes the Soul, the spiritual man, back and down, 
till, spent and overcome, he gasps. Oh ! who shall deliver me 
from this tyranny of Sin ? The cry brings relief. A new war- 
rior appears. It is the Soul's Bliicher, the Captain of our Sal- 
vation, the Lord Jesus Christ. The conflict is over. The 
victory is won. Sin has met its Waterloo ; for, though it still 
lives, it no longer reigns. The Soul is enuiucipated. The New 
Life in Christ has made it free from the dominion of sin, 
which is a continuous misery — death (viii. 2). 

46. What is an analysis of vii. ? 

It may be divided into three sections : (1) the Relation of 
the Regenerated and Justified man to the Law is set forth in 1- 
G ; (2) the Relation of the Un regenerated man to the Law, in 
7-18 ; (8) a Description of the state of the Regenerate in rela- 
tion to the Divine Law— Christian experience— is given in 14- 
25. 

47. JTow does vii. bear upon the objection that justification by 
Faith leads to antinomianisni or immoralitij 9 

It goes to show that the substitution of Christianity for 
legalism insures a degree of holiness unattainable under the 
Law ; tluit, in fact, the Law, though in itself supremely excel- 
lent as the expression of the Divine nature and God's will, is 
as insufficient to produce sanctification, that is, holiness, as it 
is for justification ; and that, therefore, the soul's only hope is 
in Christ Jesus. 

48. How docs viii. bear upon the antinoniian objection to 
Paul's doctrine of justification by faith f 

It sets forth the glory and blessedness of the New Life in 
Christ, showing that the Gospel does for the believer what it 
is impossible for the Law to do for its votary. With a victor's 
shout the Apostle proclaims the perfect security of the Chris- 
tian ; that justification issues in sanctification, and sanctifica- 
tion in glorification — the perfect realization of the Destiny of 
man. 



ROMANS. 433 

49. Wliat is notable about viii. ? 

It is the Matterhorn amid the Alpine heights of inspired 
utterances. It is the loftiest peak to which Prophet or Apostle 
ever soared. Even the seraphic Isaiah never reached so sub- 
lime a height. It is not only not surpassed, but as a strain of 
lofty and impassioned utterance, it is uuapproached in the 
entire range of human eloquence. The impetuous rush of the 
Apostle's miud cannot be stayed. His soul expands, and its 
wings spread as the glorious future of the spiritual realm opens 
before him. He sees the unfolding Kingdom of Christ, the 
victorious working out of God's purposes ; and then, in the 
fiery rapture of that view, he breaks out into a defiance of sin 
and all infirmities, reachiug the very climax of inspired elo- 
quence, as he chants that immortal hymn to the Victory of 
Christ's Love (31-39). 

50. Whi/ does the Apostle introduce into his glowing x^eriod the 
passage about Predestination (viii. 28-30) ? 

Not certainly with any jDolemic view. It was for no pur- 
pose of controversy. The Apostle had no thought that his 
burning words would ever be made the basis of a system of 
dogmatic theology. They come in here incidentally, and are 
introduced solely for the purpose of giving assurance to the 
believer, that no ills he can suffer can alienate from him the 
love of God or prevent his attaining the glorious life in the 
future world. 

51. What is the golden chain in viii. ? 

It is composed of four links, and unites together Heaven 
and Earth, Time and Eternity : Divine Foreknowledge, Pre- 
destination, Justification, and Glorification (29, 30). 

52. What is the view of the Christian life set forth in vi., vii., 
and viii. ? 

It is that it consists of a death and a resurrection. The new- 
made Christian dies to sin, to the world, to the flesh, and to 
the Law. Tliis death he undergoes at his first entrance into 
communion with Christ ; but no sooner is he thus dead with 
Christ, than he rises with Him ; he is made partaker of 
Christ's resurrection ; he is united to Christ's body ; he lives 

28 



434 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

in Christ and to Christ ; he is no longer " in the flesh" — an 
animal man, but "in the spirit" — a "new man in Christ 

Jesus." 

THE IX.-XI. SECTION. 

53. To what point in the argument did viii. conduct us 9 

With that chapter tlie discussion of the plan of salvation 
and of its immediate consequences was brought to a close. 
With its concluding period theology reaches its culmination. 
It carries us to a height where all that the mind can know of 
God and His ways is seen in the longest perspective and most 
celestial clearness. Here, indeed, had the Apostle been writing 
simply for the sake of argument, the letter might have closed. 
His sympathy is, however, of a human rather than of a logical 
or philosophical kind ; and hence, with a heart full of love 
and sorrow for liis unbelieving countrymen, he proceeds in 
the third section of the doctrinal part of his epistle (ix.-xi.) to 
apply the great principles already developed by him to the 
dealings of God with Jews and Gentiles, so as to explain the 
rejection of the former and the acceptance of the latter. 

54. What relation does the argument of this part sustain to 
the foregoing f 

It is an answer to the objection that the universality of the 
Gospel, the indiscriminate offer of the benefits thereof to the 
Gentiles as well as the Jews, the placing of the latter on a 
platform of equality with the former, is in open violation of 
the covenant promise made to Abraham and given to Israel, 
that they should be the peculiar people of God, the favorites 
of Heaven, and so all be saved. What is the good of an elec- 
tion that does not elect, of a choice that leaves the Jew on a 
par with the rest of mankind? 

55. What are the chief points the Apostle snakes in answer to 
the above objection of his Jewish kinsm,en f 

1. God has never bound himself to peculiar favoritism to 
the descendants of Abraham as such. The promise has been 
misunderstood. The principle of selection in the Divine plan 
has been manifest from the beginning. In your own history 
you can see it. God chose Isaac in preference to Ishmael, and 



ROMANS. 435 

Jacob in preference to Esau (ix. 6-14). It is to tlie righteous 
that tlie promises go ; and one is not necessarily rigliteous be- 
cause he was born a Jew (ii. 28, 29). In every nation those 
wlio fear God are accepted of Him (Acts x. 35). 

2. God is absolutely sovereign and free in all His actions. 
This is the high prerogative of Jehovah. He will have 
mercy on whom He will, and no sinful creature can ever, 
whether on account of his natural descent or works of law, 
place Him under obligations to bestow His favor. (Cf. ix. 
14-21 with Ex. xxxiii. 19.) 

3. The rejection of the Jews was for cause — on account of 
their unbelief (ix. 25-x. 5). 

4. The Gospel method of justification, different from that of 
the Law, is simple, easy, adapted to all men, and therefore, 
agreeably to the revealed purpose of God, ought to be preached 
to all men. Here again the Apostle propounds his great doc- 
trine of Conditional Universalism. It is an argumentum ad 
hominem (x. 6-21). 

5. The rejection of the Jews is not total (xi. 1-10), neither 
is it final, and there is a purpose of the widest benevolence in 
it all, embracing the entire race. This argument (xi. 11-36) 
was intended as a consolation to the wounded national pride 
of the Jews, and a balm for their aggrieved patriotism. 

56. How does the Apostle proceed with this argument ? 

He begins weepingly, tenderly, in a minor key, and ends 
with a shout of exultation. He begins with a dirge and con- 
cludes with a doxology. As he begins the heavens are closed, 
the dull clouds of unbelief rest on the minds before him. The 
distance in spirit, in insight, in triumph between the eighth 
and ninth of Romans, is the whole distance between the New 
Jerusalem in Heaven and the Old Jerusalem on earth. As he 
progresses with his argument, however, his mind recovers its 
joyous tone, and as he sees the dark clouds which envelop 
Israel's history and lapse lighted up in all their mystery by 
the infinite mercy which shines from future consummation ; 
as he contemplates the fact that tlie unbelief of the Jew and 
the faith of the Gentile in the providence of God are recipro- 
cally beneficial, and out of all so seemingly great an evil God 
w^ould evolve a still greater good, filled with adoring gratitude, 
he pours forth his soul in that sublime and aflfecting tribute 



436 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

to the wisdom, goodness, and sovereignty of Jehovah — in a 
tlieology tliat may be either said or sung — the sublimest apos- 
trophe to be found in the pages of inspiration itself—" O, the 
depth of the riches," etc. (xi. 33-36). 

57. What is noteworthy about this ix.-xi. section of Homans f 

It is tlie battle-ground of the theologians. Here the Calvinist 
and the Arminian have often struggled for the mastery, and 
here the intellectual gladiators of either party still continue to 
measure swords, each claiming the victory for his own side. 
Besides, no other portion of Scripture did so much to mould 
the radical theology of the Presbyterian Church as the passage 
contained between verses sixteen and twentj'-four of Cliapter 
Nine (ix. 16-24) ; and it is the extreme or ultra Calvinistic in- 
terpretation put upon portions of this passage by the West- 
minster divines that led to the recent demand for the Revision 
of the Confession of Faith of that Church. ^ In the opinion 
of the great majority of the representative part of that Cona- 
munion, those interpretations are inconsistent with the Be- 
nevolence of God, and tend to put His character in an entirely 
wrong light. Hence the Revision. 

58. What effect have these radical interxiretations upon PauVs 
logical consistency f 

The contention is that they in effect destroy it, and, making 
the Apostle completely reverse himself, he is made to contend 
for a theory of Unconditional Exclusiveness in this section 
wliich is wholly at war with the Conditional Universalism of 
the Gospel of the previous part and of x., the middle chapter 
of this section as well, and which is substantially identical 
with the narrow Jewish scheme of limited blessing which he 
had so vigorously combated. 

59. What plain truth is taught in ix. ? 

That the ground of the bestowment of any Divine favor 
upon any human being is in God, and the reason for its being 
withheld from, and for the condemnation of, any soul is not 
in God, but in the persons themselves. If any are saved, it is 
due wholly to the Sovereign Grace of God ; if any are lost, it 
is due only to their sin. 



ROMANS. 437 

60. WTiat great truth ought to be kept constantly in mind in 
the study of God's Word and Providence ? 

That it is not simply creatures with whom God has to deal 
as Moral Governor, but sinful creatures — persons who can set 
up no valid claim wliatever in and of tliemselves to the exten- 
sion to them of His consideration and favor. Our plea must 
ever be, not Justice, but Mercy. 

61. WTiat is the Tneaning of ix.lS — ^^ Jacob have I loved and 
Esau have I hated' ^ ? 

The words "loved" and "hated" are exact, literal transla- 
tions of the original Greek. Here, however, as elsewhere, the 
letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Translation is one 
thing and interpretation quite another. Words do not ahvays 
have the same sense ; and their meaning in any particular case 
must be determined by their context. This is conspicu- 
ously true in this instance. In the ordinary sense of the word, 
God cannot hate any creature, especially an unborn babe, as 
Esau was of whom the word is here spoken. That cannot be 
looked upon as a virtue in the Creator which He condemns as a 
vice in the creature (1 John iii. 15). Nor does the passage re- 
quire so forbidding a sense. Paul is establishing the doctrine 
of the Divine Sovereignty, the right of selection on the part of 
Jehovah. He shows that such a thing is no novelty, since it 
was true in the history of the Jews from the very first. Since 
the Seed promised to Abraham could come in only one line, as 
between the two sons of the patriarch, who were only half- 
brothers. He chose Isaac and rejected Ishmael ; and since only 
one of the twin brothers could be the head of the Israelitish 
nation — the great Theocracy — He chose Jacob and not Esau, 
preferring, for reasons satisfactory to Himself, the younger 
son to the elder. It w^as simply a question of preference be- 
tween the two for a place which, in the nature of things, only 
one could occupy. 

62. What is meant by the potter and the clay passage (ix. 
20, 21) ? 

That it is impious in the sinful and obstinate creature to so 
impugn the motives and conduct of a holy and righteous God ; 
and that the sinful creature has no claims to promotion and 
honor at the hands of the Creator. Only this and nothing 



438 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

more. There is nothing whatever despotic, or arbitrary, or 
inconsistent with the Divine benevolence involved in it, when 
taken in connection with the context, and tlie subject the pas- 
sage is designed to illustrate ; while if " wrested" from its con- 
nection and made to stand alone, or put upon the rack, it may 
be tortured into saying ahnost anything, and, as a consequence, 
of putting the Most High in a most unenviable and forbidding 
light. An unbelieving, unspiritual, and wicked Jew had no 
more claims to tlie Divine favor than any other wicked person 
whatever, and God does them no injustice whatever if He 
leaves them to the consequences of their own inexcusable 
sin. 

G3. W/icit is meant in ix. 22 bi/ ^^ vessels of wrath fitted to 
destruction'^ ? 

The contrast is here between the Jews and Gentiles, the lat- 
ter, contrary to the Jewish notion of what was proper, being 
admitted to the blessings of Messiah's kingdom. The former 
would neither go into this kingdom themselves nor would they 
allow the Gentiles, who were willing, to enter. They refused 
salvation on the terms on which God offered it, and the only 
terms by which salvation was possible. By their obstinacy 
and unbelief they fitted themselves for that condign punish- 
ment which history tells us befell them. jSIen fit themselves 
for destruction— for punishment — and when so fitted, after 
much long-suffering, there is nothing left for Jehovah to do 
but to destroy them — bring upon them such punishment as 
their sins deserve. This is alike true of nations and individ- 
uals. 

64. What verse in this section is a keij to the whole Bible f 

The doctrine of the Bible has these two fundamental articles, 
and these are to be found in xi. 32 : The Misery of Man— The 
Mercy of God. This verse mentions them both, and sets them 
over against each other. " God hath concluded them all in 
unbelief" — here is man's misery ; " that He might have com- 
passion upon all" — here is God's mercy. 

65. What pr^ophetic 2:>assage is there in this section f 

That in which the Apostle distinctly foreannounces the Res- 
toration of the Jews, and the union of the two great sections 



ROMANS. 439 

of humanity in the one great family of God, when the elder 
son (the Jews) and the prodigal (the Gentiles) shall rejoice 
together, assembled at their Father's table (xi. 25, 26). This 
Apostle, and he alone, of all the New Testament writers, has 
spoken clearly on this subject, and the chapters w^hich com- 
pose this section (ix.-xi.) may be regarded as a Supplement or 
Sequel to the Acts, where, in its closing verses, the historian 
represents Paul as taking a sad Farewell of his people. 

66. What are the Jews among the races of men ? 

They are a most illustrious people (ix. 3-5; xi. 28). Their 
existence is at once a monument and a miracle. They are in- 
destructible, too ; for, as our Lord said, " This generation (race) 
shall not pass away (or cease to be) until all the things spoken 
by Him shall be fulfilled" (Matt. xxiv. 34). And they are as 
potential as they are indestructible ; in the literary, scientific, 
political, and especially the financial world, their power is felt. 
Dislike them, criticise them we maj% and perhaps justly ; but 
we are their debtors, nevertheless. All Christendom is under 
obligations to them. *They are the source of the world's life ; 
'* for salvation is of the Jews" (John iv. 32). 



THE PRACTICAL PART. 

67. How does Christianity differ from, purely ethical systems 
of religion f 

Not in furnishing new rules of ethics or morals, which have 
been the same in all ages, but in furnishing a new spring of 
action which governs the life and makes it a continual offering 
to God. Hence in this Epistle, as elsewhere in the New Tes- 
tament Scriptures, a holy walk is not presented as a considera- 
tion by which Heaven is gained, but rather as the necessary 
outcome of a genuine faith and a hearty and cheerful return 
for the "mercies of God." AVhatever gratitude the soul feels 
for pardon, purity, and the sure prospect of eternal life, is 
called forth to secure its consecration to Him Who is the Au- 
thor of all these mercies. The Christian does not work for 
wages, but gladly consecrates the life he lives in the flesh to 
the glory of that Saviour Who loved him and gave Himself 
for him. 



440 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

68. }V7iat relation does the practical sustain to the doctrinal 
pa7't of this Epistle ? 

Though the former is incidental and subordinate to the lat- 
ter, they together constitute one piece and cohere together in 
indissoluble union. In the latter we see the practical work- 
ings of Christ's spirit as expounded in the former— and 
surely no harvest-field, garden, or orchard was ever more 
beautiful or fruitful. We here see that truth is in order to 
GodUness, and that the doctrine of Justification by Faith does 
not lead to antinomianism. Creed is not sacrificed to Com- 
mandment, nor Commandment to Creed, but the two coalesce 
in a vital connection. The edifice of Christian character is 
built upon the immovable foundations of doctrine. And, on 
the other hand. Dogma, instead of being a bundle of dry and 
withered sticks, is a living tree like that of the Apocalypse, 
which bears twelve manner of fruits and yields its fruit every 
month. At the beginning of this Epistle these practical ex- 
hortations would have been as cold and uninspiring as the ten 
commandments on the tables of stone ; standing where they 
do, every precept is moistened with tears of Divine Pity and 
the Blood of Redemption ; and to the soul that has learned 
with Paul the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge 
of God, every word that expresses the will of the Lord Jesus 
is richer than gold and sweeter than honey. 

69. How may the practical part of this Epistle he divided f 

Into three sections: (1) the general duties of Christians in 
their various relations to God (xii.) ; (2) their political or civil 
duties (xiii.) ; (3) their ecclesiastical duties, or those duties they 
owe to each other as members of the church (xiv.-xv. 13). 
This whole part, as, indeed, the entire Epistle, should be com- 
mitted to memory by every Christian — laid up in the heart 
and practised in the life. 

70. What is the j^ivotal word on which the gate opens through 
which we pass from the docttHnal to the practical part of this 
Epistle ? 

Therefore (xii. 1). With the Word of Jehovah as his base, 
with faith as his fulcrum, "the mercies of God" as his lever, 
and love as his motive power, the Apostle would lift tlie be- 
liever out of his old life in sin into the New Life in Christ. 



ROMANS. 441 

71. How many '■'■ therefores^'' are there in this Epistle? 

Seven : (1) the Inexcusable therefore (ii. 1) ; (2) the Impossi- 
ble therefore (iii. 20) ; (3) the therefore of Faith (iv. 16) ; (4) 
the tlierefore of Peace (v. 1) ; (5) the therefore of Safety (viii. 
1) ; (6) the therefore of Providence (xi. 22) ; (7) the therefore 
of Christian Consecration (xii. 1). 

72. What passage in this Epistle bears directly on the great 
Temperance question of the day ? 

That in xiv.-xv. 7. Than this there can be no better Tract 
for tlie Times on this burning question, both for those who use 
intoxicating liquors and for those who oppose their use. 

73. Hoiv does the Apostle seek to win men from, putting too 
much stress on externals or non-essential matters in religion f 

By the definition he gives of real religion, vital Godliness in 
xiv. 17. 

74. What other notable passages are there in this practical 
part of the Romans f 

That where the Apostle sets forth the individual believer's 
responsibility to his Master (xiv. 7) ; that where he presents 
our Lord as an example for the exercise of Charity for the 
weak (xv. 1-3) ; the two prayers of the Apostle in which he 
asks God to grant to Christians the excellences it is their 
duty to possess (xv. 5, 13) ; and the final doxology with which 
lie interweaves a description and eulogium of the Gospel (xvi. 
25-27). 

75. What is the nature of the concluding ptart of this Epistle 
to the Homans ? 

This begins at xv. 14— which should have been the beginning 
of the last chapter — and in which the Apostle gives some ac- 
count of his labors and plans (xv. 14-33), and the salutations 
with which he commonly concludes his Epistles (xvi.). 

76. IVhat are the most notable passages in this m,ost notable 

Letter f 

The grand generalization of v., the Iliad or Battle of the 
Soul in vii., the rapturous climax of viii., the exuberant dox- 
ology of xi., and the magnificent finale — the grandest of all 
the Apostle's doxologies — in which with open diapason he 



442 • THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

strikes the triple chord of the Epistle — the distinguishing 
traits of the Gospel — Universality, Free Grace, and Faith — 
and so concludes the most wonderful production ever penned 
by mortal man (xvi. 25-27). 

77. How did Luther sum up the contents of this Epistle ? 

In it is treated in the most masterly manner everything that 
belongeth to the Christian life. Whatever it concerns a Chris- 
tian most to know ; Law, Gospel, Sin, Grace, Justification, 
Christ, God, Good Works, Faitli, Hope, Charity ; all wherein 
true Christianity consisteth ; how it becomes a Christian to 
conduct himself toward his neighbors whether good or bad, 
weak or strong, friends or enemies, and toward hiniself — all 
this is to be found here in such perfection that it is impossible 
to wish anything more or better. 

78. What is a syllabus of this great Epistle ? 



INTRODUCTION. 

(a) Apostolic Address and Salutation, i. 1-7. 

(b) Preface. His thankfulness for the faith of the Romans. His pur- 

posed visit, i. 8-15. 

THE DOCTRINAL DISCUSSION. 

Tlieme: Tlie Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that 
believeth, for we are Justified by Faith, i. 16, 17. 

I. Negative Proof. 

We are not justified by works, for all men are sinners. 

(a) For the wrath of God is revealed against the Gentiles, i. 18-32, 

(b) As also against the Jews, ii. 1 ; iii. 20. 

(1) For there is no respect of persons with God, ii. 1-11. 

(2) For not the hearers of a law, but the doers shall be justified, ii. 12-16. 
(.S) But the Jews have become transgressors of the Law, ii. 17-24. 

(4) And their circumcision has become uncircumcision, ii. 25-29. 

(5) Though the Jews have some advantages, iii. 1-8. 

(6) Nevertheless all, both of Jews and Gentiles, are under sin, and by 

the works of the Law cannot be justified, iii. 9-20. 

2. Positive Proof. 

For we are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law. 

(a) The doctrine of justification by faith stated, iii. 21-31. 

(6) Illustrated and confirmed by the example of Abraham, iv. 1-25. 

(c) The results of justification by faith, v. 1-11. 



ROMANS. 443 



3. Retrospect and Summary. 

(a) The first Adam, the source of sin and death among mankind, v. 

12-14. 
(6) Chkist, the second Adam, the source of rigliteousuess and life, v. 

15-17. 

(c) Salvation procured for all, v. 18, 19. 

(d) Even the Law is made to subserve God's purpose in the economy of 

Salvation, v. 20, 21. 

4. Justification as related to Sanctification. 

(a) The relation of the Regenerated and Justified man to Sin, vi. 1-23. 

(1) We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? vi. 1-11. 

(2) Present yourselves, therefore, unto God as alive from the dead, vi. 

12-14. 

(3) Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, have your 

fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life, vi 15-23. 
(6) The relation of the Regenerated and Justified man to the Law. Be- 
ing dischai'ged from the Law, we serve in newness of the spirit, 
and not in oldness of the letter, vii. 1-6. 

(c) The Relation of the Unregenerate to the Law. Through the Law 

sin becomes exceedingly sinful, vii. 7-13. 

(d) A description of the state of the Regenerate, vii. 14; viii. 17. 

(1) In relation to the divine law— the Old Adam, vii. 14-25. 

(2) In relation to the Holy Spirit— the New Man in Christ Jesus, 

vlii. 1-11. 

(3) And ye who are led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God, viii. 12-17. 

(e) Consolations amidst the sufferings of the present time, viii. 18-39. 

(1) Because of the greatness of the future glory, viii. 18. 

(2) Because these sufferings ai'e in accordance with Divine order, viii. 

19-25. 

(3) Because of the assistance of the Spirit, viii. 2C, 27. 

(4) Because to believers all things work together for good, viii. 28-39. 

5. The ix.-xi. Section. 

(a) Paul laments the fact of Israel's rejection, ix. 1-5. 

(6) But the Word of God hath not come to naught, ix. 6-13. 

(c) And there is no unrighteousness with God, ix. 14-18. 

(d) For this rejection is in accordance Mnth Old Testament prophecj^, ix. 

19-33. 

(e) For the Jews are ignorant of God's righteousness and seek to estab- 

lish their own, x. 1-13. 
(/) And would not hearken to the glad tidings, which fact had also 

been foretold, x. 14-21. 
(g) But God did not cast off" His people, for a portion have accepted the 

Gospel, xi. 1-10. 
(h) By their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles, xi. 11-15. 
(t) Their rejection, however, is but temporarj", xi. 16-24. 
U) For Israel shall yet be saved, xi. 25-32. 
(k) How unsearchable are the judgments of God ! xi. 33-36. 



444 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



The Practical Part. 

Holiness of Life is the fruit of Justifying Faith, 
(a) Living sacrifices and a free service in Christ to God, xii. 1, 2. 
(h) Exhortation to humility and to tlie proper use of our various gifts, 

xii. 3-8. 
(c) Exliortations to various Cliristian virtues, xii. 9-2L 
{d) Obey rulers, xiii. 1-7. 
(e) Love your neiglibor, xiii. 8-10. 
(/) Put on the armor of light, xiii. 11-14. 
(g) Let there be mutual toleration between the strong and the weak, 

xiv. 1-12. 
(/() Let not the strong put a stumbling-block in the way of the weak, 

xiv. 13-23 
(i) The strong must bear with the weak, xv. 1-6. 
{k) That all may praise God together, xv. 7-13. 

Miscellaneous Matters. 

(a) A description of Paul's Apostolic office and work, xv. 14-21. 

(b) His plans for the future, xv. 22-29. 

(c) Asks for the prayers of the Church, xv. 30-33. 

(d) Recommendation of Plufbe, xvi. 1, 2. 

(e) Salutations, xvi. 3-l(i. 

(/) Warnings against false teachers, xvi. 17-20. 

{g) Salutations from Christians at Corinth, xvi. 21-23. 

(fi) Concluding Doxology, xvi. 25-27. 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 445 

FIRST CORINTHIANS. 
INTRODUCTION. 

1. Where and luhat luas Corinth 9 

It was one of the "Eyes of Greece," the rival of Athens, 
which, thirty miles to the northwest, was the other eye of tliis 
classic country. The former was the commercial metropolis, 
as the latter was the literary centre of the far-famed Greeks. 
The EmiDorium of half the world, Corinth was remarkable for 
wealth and luxury, and equally so for profligacy and licen- 
tiousness. These vices were greatly fostered by the worship 
of Venus established there in great magnificence ; so that 
Corinth ultimately became the most corrupt and effeminate 
city in Greece— the Vanity Fair of the Roman Empire. The 
hot-bed of the world's iniquity, it was alike the London, the 
Paris, and the Gotham of the first century after Christ. 

2. JBi/ ivhom ivas the Qospel first introduced into this pagan 
metrojjolis f 

By the Apostle Paul himself. The account of his experience 
in connection with the planting of the Seed of the Kingdom in 
Corinth is given in Acts xviii. 1-17, and ought by all means to 
be read in connection with this Epistle. A knowledge of the 
History is needful to a proper appreciation and understanding 
of the Letter (ii., iv. 15). During the year and a half spent in 
self-denying toil among these people, the Apostle succeeded in 
building up a large and flourishing church (Acts xviii. 10) — 
a church which he yearned over with a true spiritual paternal 
affection, and which caused him, nevertheless, more anxiety 
and sorrow than any other of the numerous churches of which 
he was the founder. 

3. What lucre the prevailing vices of Corinth ivhen Paul first 
visited it f 

Dishonesty, Drunkenness, and, above all, Sensuality, which 
was directly due to the worship of Venus, and to the thousand 
y^ierodii^i— priestesses, which was but another name for prosti- 
tutes — consecrated to her service. The temples were but vast 



446 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

brothels, where were enacted scenes of revelry and aebauchery 
such as happily have become incredible to a modern ninul. 
Too plainly are those innate vices of the Corinthians reflected 
in this Epistle. 

4. What were the intellectual charactei'lstiGS of the Greek 
people ? 

Tliey were proud of their language and literature, of their 
learning and logic, of their philosophy and rhetoric, of their 
scliools and their orators, of their "speech" and their "wis- 
dom." They were possessed, too, of a litigious spirit, of a rest- 
less speculation, eager factiousness, and inflated vanity. These 
traits of the Greek character are also manifest throughout this 
Epistle. 

5. What was the composition of the Church at Corinth ? 

It was mainly made up of Gentile converts ; though a few 
Jews, and those men of mark, as Justus and Crispus, the ruler 
of the Synagogue (Acts x viii. 7, 8), were converted and baptized ; 
but the members of tliis chuix;li were predominantly of Gen- 
tile antecedents. Hence in this Epistle we get the clearest 
view of the actual difficulties encountered by Christianity in 
a heathen community, and of the method adopted by the 
greatest of Christian teachers when brought face to face 
with the problems suggested to the minds of converts from 
paganism. 

6. In what state toas this Church ivhen Paul addressed to it 
this Epistle f 

It was in a state of faction, rent and disquieted by contend- 
ing parties ; grievous errors which led to worse practices— 
l)ractices which caused even paganism itself to blush— were 
being entertained and gloried in ; practical problems giving 
rise to no end of perplexity were calling for solution ; grave 
scandals growing out of the manner of conducting public 
worship and of the management of their Church meetings 
were in existence, as also in connection with the celebration 
of the Lord's Supper itself. All these evils— the outgrowth of 
about three years, during Paul's ministry at Ephesus whence 
tliis letter was written — were seriously impairing the useful- 
ness of the infant organization, if not actually endangering its 
very existence. And it was under these distressing, almost 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 447 

heart-rending, circumstances that the Apostle wrote this First 
Epistle to the Corinthian Church (2 Cor. ii. 4). 

7. What, then, was the immediate aim, of this Epistle ? 

To compose quarrels, solve problems, correct abuses, and, in 
a word, to reclaim this Christian congregation from its pagan- 
izing tendencies and Hellenic vagaries to Christian Holiness. 

8. What, then, is the peculiar character of this First Epistle 
to the Corinthians f 

It is not theological like "Romans" or "Galatians," but 
Practical and Casuistical— that is, it deals mainly with par- 
ticular cases — cases of conscience — such as arose continually in 
the daily life of a higlily civilized and highly artificial com- 
munity like that of Corinth — and resolves them by applying 
to them, as their true solvent, the fundamental principles of 
the Christian religion. And this Epistle is especially valua- 
ble in that it shows us that the naost trivial details can be 
decided by great and solemn principles, and that the Rule of 
Charity and the Voice of Conscience are sufficient to decide 
unerringly all questions and compose all difficulties that may 
at any time arise among Christians. 

9. How does this letter of Paul to the Corinthians compare 
with his other Epistles ? 

It is the most fragmentary, varied, and comprehensive of all 
Paul's Pastorals, and exhibits throughout his boundless intel- 
lectual vigor, his fine tact, his practical wisdom and sagacity, 
as well as the wondrous calmness and patience with which he 
pronounced upon the many intricate problems and entangle- 
ments presented to him for solution, and the unerring firmness 
with which, through all plausible sophistry and fallacious 
scruples, he laid hold of the radical principle and the sharp 
finality with which he expressed it. Nor is there any lack in 
the Epistle of the warm, rapid, and stirring eloquence with 
which the name of Paul is ever associated. It is the longest of 
all the Church pastorals, contains just about the same amount 
of matter as the Romans, is divided into the same number of 
chapters, and is altogether as weighty and important in tlie 
practical sphere of religion as that great Epistle is in the theo- 
logical. 



448 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

10. For what is this E2nsile cspcciaUif remarkable f 

The almost endless variety of topic for pulpit treatment it 
suggests. There are in it themes for not less than Hix Hun- 
dred Sermons ; so that the thoughtful minister might preaeh 
from this Epistle alone one sermon a week for twelve years 
without repetition or monotony. It is a perfect seed-bed of 
thought germs. 

11. For ivhom is this Epistle espeeially valuable? 

It is invaluable as a manual for all Christian congregations, 
and, as a transcript from real life, it is unsurpassed as a guide 
to Christian ministers in pastoral theology— the practical work 
of the ministry. Every minister, at least, should know this 
Epistle, in letter and spirit, from end to end. 



DIVISIONS. 

12. How mar I this Epistle be divided ? 

Unlike the Romans and otiier theological Epistles which 
generally fall naturally into two parts— the doctrinal and the 
practical— this being wholly practical, or, at least, the doctrinal 
and the ])ractical being interblended tiiroughout, it is not sus- 
ceptible of such division, but is of the nature of what i)reachers 
call " continued application." Still, however, the Epistle may 
be said to consist of two parts— the first part being addressed 
to that state of things which Paul, to his great grief, had 
learned (i. 11) existed in the Church (i.-vi.), and the second 
being answers to certain interrogatories which had been ad- 
dressed to him by the Church itself in a letter handed him by 
its representatives (xvi. 15 ; vii.-xvi.). 

13. What are the main iojncs treated in the first part ? 

Four: (1) Factions in the Church— the Sin and Folly of 
Party Spirit (i.-iv. 16) ; (2) Impurity in the Church— the 
incestuous offender (iv. 17-v.) ; (3) Unchristian Litigation (Vi. 
1-8) ; (4) The Sin and Shame of Fornication (vi. 9-20). 

14. Upon what subjects are inquiries answered in the second 
part ? 

Four: (1) Marriage and Cehbacy (vii.) ; (2) The Relation 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 449 

of Liberty and Love — Christian Expediency (viii.-x. 22) ; (3) 
Public Worship — Decorum in Keligious Assemblies (xi.-xiv.) ; 
(4) The Resurrection (xv.). 

15. What is the key to the main divisions of this Epistle f 

Tlie union between Christ and the Church. Factions in 
the Church dishonor it. Impurity is destructive of it. Mar- 
riage Illustrates it and is hallowed by it. Identification with 
idols profanes it. The Lord's Supper expresses and embleni- 
izes it. Disorderly assemblies disgrace it. The Resurrection 
consummates and crowns it. 



FACTIONS AND THEIR CURE. 

16. What are the distinguishing features of the Church of 
Christ as herein set forth? 

Four : (1) Consecration — " them that are sanctified in Christ 
Jesus ;" (2) Holiness— " called to be saints ;" (3) Cathohcity or 
Universality — " all that in every place," etc. ; and (4) Unity— 
"Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours" (i. 2). 

17. What is Paul's great cure for schism f 

Christ. To Him he directed every eye, and every heart, 
and every soul, as the personal Saviour, the Centre and Source 
of Unity ; in fellowship with Whom all men would lind their 
fellowship with each other (i. 13). 

18. Can there be real union among Churches without unitg of 
external organization ? 

Yes ; the great evangelical Churches of Christendom are one 
in spirit and purpose, tliough maintaining individually a sepa- 
rate corporate existence. Differing in non-essentials also, there 
may be real union without unity of creed as well. Christ is 
more than creed and Christianity than ti^eology. 

19. ^VJlat answer did Paul make to the clamor of the Jew and 
the sneer of the Greek ? 

To the Jew — Not Signs but Christ; and to the Greek — Not 
Wisdom— Philosophy — but Christ Crucified (i. 18-25). 

29 



450 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

20. How docs Paul make it appmr that Christ is the Alpha 
and Omtga of our salvation / 

He is our Wisdom by oiilightoning- us ; our Kighteousness by 
justifying us; our Sanctiticatioii by purifying us; and our 
Redemption by pureliasing us into imiuortality. From tirst 
to last it is all Cukist [\. 30). 

21. What is the difference between the wisdom of God which 
Paul preached ctnd Grecian 2ihiloso2^hi/ f 

The former ditlered from the latter in these three respects: 
(1) the wisdom of God as exhibited in the preaching of the 
Cross was not any human theory devised by the speculative 
ingenuity of man, but is a disclosure made by God of knowl- 
edge unattainable by human endeavor ; (2) it is a revelation 
of the HoiA- Si'iKiT ; and {o) it can be taught only to spiritual 
persons (ii. 6-iii. 4). 

22. Jfow does Paul show the follif of party spirit in the 
Church in iii. 5-23? 

He shows that the Church is originated and maintained, 
not by men, but CJoi) ; that teachers, ministei-s, however 
gifted and eloquent, are but (JoD's instrument*^ ; and yet be- 
ing human instruments, they have each his own responsibility, 
as each has his own part of the work. He shows further that 
the man who held to Paul and would learn nothing from 
Apolh>s or Peter was defrauding himself of his rights, since 
they are all his ami no one of them represented the whole 
truth, but each a particular phase of the Glorious Gosi)el. 
}^ig(4ry, sectarianism, exclusive denominationalism— these are 
beams in the eye ecclesiastical, and seriously blur the spiritual 
vision. Preachers exist for the Church, and not the Church for 
the preachers. Denominationalism is foi* the Church, and not 
the Church for denominationalism. 

23. Ifow does Paul finallj/ show the danger and foil}/ of party 
spirit— preacher-worshi}) — in the Church * 

By showing the futility of the judgment }nissed upon their 
teachers by the Corinthians, Paul and ApoUos, and Cephas, 
and the rest were servants of Christ, stewards sent by Him 
to dispense toothers what He had entrusted to them. To Him 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 451 

thoy wore directly responsible, so that either the praise or the 
blame of the people was a matter of very small moment to 
them. The great (piestion wa^, not whether they were elo- 
quent, philosophical, learned, or even successful, but whether 
they were Faithful — each man true to himself, maintainiui;: 
his own individuality, doing God's work in his own way. To 
his own master each man stands or falls ; and he who is con- 
scious that he is accountable alone to Christ can always say 
with Paul, " It is a very small thing that I should be judged 
of man's judgment," etc. (iv. 3). 

EXCOMMUNICATION. 

24. ]Vha( are (he particulars in the Case of Discipline re- 
ported in v. ? 

(1) There was a Necessity for it — a gross scandal existed ; (2) 
the Congregation itself must pronounce the judgment ; (3) the 
Object of the censure was not simply the punishment, but the 
Salvation of the offender ; and (4) the motive to the process 
was the Propitiation of our Redeemer : we all belong to God, 
and the body which represents Him in the world should be 
free from corruption. The necessity for this Paul proceeds to 
urge and illustrate in the words, "For even Christ our Pass- 
over is sacriticed for us ; therefore," etc. (v. 7). 

UNCHRISTIAN LITIGATION. 

25. How does the Apostle seek to dissuade the Chi'istiaiis of 
Corinth from indulging the spirit of Utigiousness so common 
cunong the Greeks i^ 

For a Christian to compel his brother before a heathen magis- 
trate was monstrous in the Apostle's mind, horrible, incon- 
gruous, a confession on the part of the Christian community 
that it was unable to manage its own atlairs ; and besides 
making a burlesque of Christian love, it was a degradation on 
the part of the saints, who are by and by to judge the world, 
to put themselves in a position to be judged by their pagan 
neighbors. The whole thing was unseemly, unbrotherly, un- 
christian. Better even sutler wrong or loss than, through 
your litigiousness, cause the Name of Christ to be blasphemed 
among the Gentiles (vi. 1-11). 



452 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



FORNICATION. 

26. What was (he occasion of the Apostle's severe condemna- 
tion of Fornication in vi. 12-20? 

Their perversion of Paul's grand words about Christian 
liberty, so as to make them a justification of their gross ini- 
morahty. And so the Apostle now sees that to his motto, 
"All things are lawful for me," he must add, " But all things 
are not expedient," so as to guard against its abuse. "The 
body is not for fornication, but for the Lord." Ye are " temples 
of the Holy Spirit. Ye are not your own ; ye are bought with 
a price ; therefore Glorify God in your Body and in your 
Spirit, which are God's." 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. 

27. What were the questions respecting marriage which were 
referred to the Apostle for answer f 

Two : whether tlie unmarried may marry, and whether the 
married are to continue to live together. The duty of un- 
married persons to themselves he states in vii. 2, 7-9 ; and 
afterwards in vii. 25-39 he explains the duty of parents to their 
unmarried daughters. 

28. What tilings should be taken into the account in forming 
a conclusion as to what Paid here teaches about marriage ? 

These five : (1) That he is not here treating of marriage in 
the abstract or giving to the subject a complete discussion, but 
only answering certain queries with regard to it put to him by 
the Corinthian Christians ; (2) That the counsel he here gives, 
to be rightly understood by us of the present day, must be in- 
terpreted in the light of the circumstances in which it was 
given and the views then entertained as to the near approach 
of the Second Advent and consecjuent end of the world ; (3) 
That in order to a correct impression as to Paul's views on the 
subject of marriage, what he says here should be supplemented 
by what he says in other places, as Eph. v. 22-33 ; 1 Tim. ii. 
15 ; (4) That he speaks about marriage just as he found it, and 
as it existed among those to whom he wished to be of service ; 
hence he makes uo allusion to love as the only justifying mo- 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 45J 

tive to entering into that relation ; (5) That it is utterly impos- 
sible that Paul, who, as a Christian, never took a narrow view 
of any subject, could entertain low or unworthy conceptions or 
hold defective views of so sacred and important a subject as 
that of marriage. 

29. What gave rise to these questions respecting marriage ? 

The different views that obtained respecting it. The Jews 
deemed it obligatory^ while the Gentiles, especially in Corinth, 
with their lax views of moralit3', looked on it as a yoke not to 
be endured, or as an evil; while some apparently urged that 
Christians being, as it were, new creatures, their whole previ- 
ous relationships were dissolved, and that therefore the mar- 
riage bond was no longer binding. Again, there were those, 
strange to say, even in corruj)t Corinth, who were tinged with 
asceticism, and who represented all sexual intercourse as im- 
pure, and beneath the dignity of spiritual persons. There was, 
therefore, in these circumstances, great need for full and ex- 
plicit statement on this subject, supplemented with Apostolic 
authority. 

30. WJmt tuas PauVs conception of marriage as reflected in 
vii. ? 

(1) He held, like his Master, that the marriage bond is indis- 
soluble — a union for life that cannot be broken up without the 
commission of that sin which per se dissolves it. He is, of 
course, a monogamist. Polygamy and pol^^andry— though the 
former was tolerated but never enjoined or commended under 
the Old dispensation — are rigorously excluded from the sanc- 
tion of the Christian Faith. 

(2) That marriage, though the highest and holiest of all pos- 
sible human relations, is not a Duty binding on mankind ; that 
it is optional, not obligatory. 

(3) That marriage is not primarily for the propagation of the 
species, but for spiritual ends (14). Those who enter on this rela- 
tionship from fleshly impulses and with fleshly ends misunder- 
stand the ordinance and are never truly married. There is not 
only no union of soul, but an inner division. True marriage 
means such a mutual spiritual affection as welds two souls into 
one moral personality. 

(4) That marriage involves mutual obligations the most 
sacred : (a) mutual benevolence (3), (6) mutual identification 



454 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

(4), (c) mutual honesty (5), (d) mutual forbearance (12, 13), (e) 
mutual concession of personal freedom (15). 

31. ]V7iat great mistake is made about the marriage relation f 

Tliat of regarding it as simply a civil contract, by which two 
persons are bound together by legal bonds wlio never possessed 
those affinities which are the essence of marriage. The essence 
of marriage is this— the strongest mutual sympathies and aims 
tliat one being can have for anotlier ; the bond of marriage is 
the solemn mutual pledge. Those who are thus married are 
united by a cord stronger than adamant, finer than the finest 
web, too weal^ to fetter, yet too strong to breal^. From the 
records of our divorce courts it is only too plain that these 
essentials of true marriage are wanting in all too many cases, 
and that multitudes are married that are not mated. It is 
impossible to cherish too high and solemn views of this sacred 
relationship. 

32. What ivas PauVs vieio of human duty in respect to mar- 
riage ? 

That it is a relation permissible to all and honorable in all, 
when its essential conditions are complied with, but binding 
upon none. As the highest type of human oneness, it is the 
normal state, but not absolutely necessary to the individual 
happiness, nor the infallible means of attaining it. Christi- 
anity puts no restrictions upon this relationship save those of 
a moral and phj^sical character essential to its existence and 
the preservation of its purity. 

33. What advice did Paul give to the unmarried f 

He issued no formal order on the subject, but left the nKitter 
entirely to the option of the individual ; the temperament, 
calling, circumstances, and opportunities of each being taken 
into the account. Each person must judge for himself and 
herself what is best. What is good and best for one may not 
at all be for another. If this is not inspired counsel, it is as 
good as if it were. 

34. Into ivhich scale docs the Apostle throiv the v)eight of his 
personal influence f 

Undoubtedly into that of celibacy as against marriage ; not 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 455 

that he regarded marriage as a morally inferior condition, but 
that in the circumstances, at the time, he saw that consecrated 
celibacy was more favorable to extended Christian usefulness. 
Marriage is the normal relation, celibacy a special gift ; but 
neither state, in itself considered, has any moral value at- 
tached to it. To use the Apostle's own formula — marriage is 
nothing, celibacy is nothing, but, in the moral view, the spirit 
prompting to either state is all. 

35. How is PauVs counsel to parents (vii. 38) to he under- 
stood 9 

Obviously not in a imoral sense, but with reference to ex- 
pediency, in the urgent necessity that rested on the Christian 
world in that day. 

36. What is the explanation of the Apostle^ s apparent lean- 
ing against marriage f 

Paul knew quite well that there was not the slightest danger 
of any premature depopulation of the world from want of 
marriages. Nature, or God had provided against that. The 
danger did not lie in that direction. There was no need of any 
exhortation to people to get married, save as a measure of pre- 
serving the proper relation of the sexes ; but there was then, 
as there is now, and possibly always will be, great need that a 
proper feeling of responsibility should be cherished with re- 
gard to it, that due consideration should be given to it, and 
that it be entered upon deliberately and from proper motives. 
This is the secret of the Apostle's carefulness and conservatism 
in his counsel on the subject. 

37. What is the Ajjostle^s vieiv of Divorce f 

That it is inadmissible. The change even from heathenism 
to Christianity was no reason for sundering the marriage 
union. Separation, owing to incompatibility of temper or in- 
ability to dwell together in peace, there might be, but Divorce — 
Never. And even in the case of separation, the initiative must 
be taken by the heathen or unbelieving party, not the Chris- 
tian. According to Paul there can be no remarriage of any 
person while the other party to a previous union is legally 
alive (vii. 12-16, 39). 



456 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

38. Is wilful desertion a valid reason for divorce? 

So the Church has uuderstood it, citiug as the warrant there- 
for vii. 15, regarding sucli desertion as a de facto rupture of 
the marriage bond, wliich stands on the same footing as adul- 
tery. Remarriage in such a case is, of course, admissible. 
This is certainly a very liberal interpretation to put upon this 
verse, and of wliich in these days great advantage is taken, 
the number of wilful deserters being now alarmingly on the 
increase. A voluntary separation, however, might be the only 
possible means of preserving moral peace where the union was 
between two souls separated from each other by so vast a gulf 
as those of a pagan and a Christian. 

39. How does the Apostle look upon mixed marriages ? 

With great disfavor (2 Cor. vi. 14-18). The reasons under- 
lying this prohibition are four, as may be inferred from vii. of 
tliis Epistle : (1) They render impossible the complete fellow- 
shi]) of husband and wife. (2) They break up domestic peace. 
(8) They prevent family religion. (4) They interfere with the 
rehgious training of children. INIultitudes of unfortunates 
who ran counter to Paul's advice in this matter, and called 
him a " crank" whose counsel was not to be heeded, now live 
to regret their folly, and are willing to vouch for the Apostle's 
inspiration. 

40. Was Paul himself ever married f 

The prevailing impression has all along been that, of all the 
Ai)ostles, Paul was the only one not a Benedict. Recently, 
however, the opinion that he too was married is gaining cur- 
rency. This is based on the su})position that he was a mem- 
ber of the Sanhedrim (Acts xxvi. 10) which he could not have 
been unless he was married and a father as well. And even 
so able a scholar as Canon Farrar has satisfied himself, at least, 
that the great Apostle had been married, but was a widower 
during most, if not all, of his ministerial life. The fact is, 
however, that nobody knows for certain, and the resolution of 
the doubt will have to be postponed till, in that blissful future 
where "there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage," 
taking advantage of the opportunity when the " beloved 
brother" is explaining to Peter some of the things in his Epis- 
tles which are " hard to be understood" (2 Pet, iii. 16), we ask 
and obtain the information from himself. 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 457 



APOSTOLIC PERMISSION. 

41. How are we to understand the Apostle's '■'•permission''^ 
and "commandment^' in vii. 6? 

The former part of this verse is generally misunderstood. 
It does not mean that the Apostle, though not commanded 
to give this advice, was yet permitted to do so, but that his 
gentle advice was given by way of permission to Christians, 
not by way of injunction. He means simply to say, that he 
leaves the details of their lives, whether married or single, to 
their individual consciences, though with large-hearted wis- 
dom and charity he would emancipate them from human and 
unauthorized restrictions. 

42. How are we to understand the Apostle ivhen elseivhere he 
ap>p)ears to distinguish betiueen his own personal opinion and 
the commandment of God ? 

Paul at no time abnegates his Apostolic office to inject his 
own private opinion. He spealis always as the ambassador of 
Christ, and is as much inspired when he is simply giving 
"advice" or expressing a "judgment" as lie is when he issues 
a formal order or indites a positive precept. Tlie real distinc- 
tion is not between inspired and uninspired, but between a 
decision in matters of Christian duty and advice in matters of 
Christian prudence. God cannot give advice ; He can only 
issue a command. When we come to advice about matters 
that are uncertain and contingent, then tlie human element 
enters ; but the advice springs from the same Spirit of 
Wisdom as in the matter of the commandment. There is in 
the Bible no such thing as inspired and uninspired matter. 
Granting, however, the distinction which some claim exists, 
then it only goes all the more strongly to prove that every 
part of the Word, save those portions which are expressly 
accepted — and such passages are few indeed — is inspired. 



LIBERTY AND LOVE. 

43. Wliat is the great question discussed iri viii. ? 

Christian Liberty and its Restrictions, or Christian Expe- 
diency. 



458 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

44. What is Christian Expediency f 

It refers not to things that are evil, but to things, a class of 
actions, that are morally indifferent and that in themselves 
are lawful and right ; and the question to be decided is, whether 
a Christian may, at all times and under all circumstances, do 
those things tliat he is fully satisfied in his own mind possess 
such a character, but about the propriety of indulging in which 
his weaker and less intelligent brother has conscientious 
scruples, or whether he should not abstain from such in- 
dulgence as a concession to the scruples of his less enlightened 
brother. 

45. Which side of this question does Paul take f 

The affirmative. In this chapter the great-souled Apostle 
champions the cause of the weaker brother and announces the 
doctrine that Liberty must be regulated by Love ; that the 
individual must consider the society of which he forms a part ; 
and tliat after his own conscience is satisfied regarding the 
propriety of certain actions, he must further consider how tlie 
conscience of his neighbor will be affected if he uses his liberty 
and does these actions. 

46. What two great lessons does PauVs exposition of Christian 
liberty or expediency enforce 9 

The first is the sacredness and supremacy of Conscience ; 
and the second is that we must ever use our liberty with Chris- 
tian consideration of others (viii. 7-12). 

47. What line of conduct does the Apostle mark out for him- 
self f 

The abridgment of his Christian liberty to the extent of 
Total Abstinence. And out of the depths of his feehng on the 
subject, this great strong man has given to the world the best 
Temperance Pledge that ever was, or ever will be, written 
(viii. 13). 

48. How does ix, hear upon this great question f 

It is an illustration, in his own case, of the great principle 
that he had just laid down that the strong should bear the 
burdens of the weak. The Apostle practises what he preaches. 
The whole chapter is an assertion of his consistency. He 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 459 

shows that he submitted himself for love's sake to restrictions, 
to which he was not in absolute duty bound. The rights and 
self-denial of an Apostle — this is the theme in ix. 

49. Hoiv does the Apostle enforce this doctrine of expediency 
or Christian self-denial f 

He shows the danger of an opposite course by citing two 
classes of instances which prove that unless vigilance, temper- 
ance, and self-denial are practised, failure and fatal conse- 
quences inevitably ensue : First, the world-renowned Isthmian 
games (ix. 24-27) ; and Second, the destruction of the Israelites 
in the wilderness in their march to the Land of Promise, 
which is followed by the enunciation of the great principles 
of Christian conduct, and an exhortation to his Corinthian 
children to follow in his footsteps (x.-xi. 1). 



WOMEN IN THE CHURCH. 

50. What is the next great subject discussed by the Apostle f 

The abuses which had grown up in connection with the 
public worship of the Church in Corinth (xi.-xiv.). 

51. What was the first abuse to the reformation of which the 
Apostle first addressed himself 9 

The conduct and deportment of Christian women (xi. 2-16). 

52. Of whcd violation of the proprieties were the Christian 
women of Corinth guilty 9 

To the scandal of all sober-minded Greeks and Orientals, 
they ventured to lay aside that article of their attire which was 
most characteristic of their subordination, and appeared in the 
public assembly unveiled^ and with open face, praying and 
prophesying, proceeded to address both God and the people ; 
and thus, according to the prevailing ideas of the time, they 
virtualljT^ unsexed themselves. Nothing could be more radical 
and revolutionary in Oriental estimation than such a proceed- 
ing as this, and hardly anything would be more calculated to 
injure Christianity than the course these godly women were 
pursuing. It looked like a Female Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. 



460 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

53. \V7iat was the mistake these good ivomen made ? 

They confounded their Christian Emancipation and their 
Spiritual Equality with their social standing, forgetting that 
equality in tlie one sphere is not inconsistent with subordina- 
tion (not inferiority) in the other. Christianity does not de- 
stroy the GoD-appointed gradation in creation (xi. 3). A 
woman is none the less, l)ut all the more, a woman when she 
becomes a Cliristian. Her relation to Christ does not destroy 
her relations to society ; on the contrary, it rather intensifies 
them. 

54. Do the Paidlne restrictions obtain to-day and in our 
Western ivorld as they did then and in the Orient ? 

They certainly do not. Tlie principle, however, most cer- 
tainly does. A woman may not unsex herself now and here 
any more than she did there and then. Nobody, however, is 
particularly scandalized when a woman eitlier prays or propli- 
esies— preaches — in public — when she can do so to edifica- 
tion ; nor are the foundations of society in any danger of being 
overturned thereby. The veil is not now the significant bit 
of dress it was then ; except, indeed, in the case of those de- 
luded females, who, in token of their death to the world and 
submission to the Church of Rome, " take the veil." 

THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

55. What 7uas the next abuse the Aj^ostle sought to correct 9 

The manner of celebrating the Lord's Supper, the most 
sacred of all Christian ordinances, which had been allowed to 
degenerate into a bacchanalian revel, not easily to be dis- 
tinguished from a Greek drinking party. The Apostle with 
much though excusable warmth rebukes this sacrilege, and 
then proceeds to give directions as to tlie proper manner in 
which this Memorial Meal should be celebrated (xi. 17-34). 

SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 

56. What disorder does the Apostle next seek to rectify f 

The abuse of the Spiritual Gifts with which the Corinthian 
Church was so largely endowed. This is a great subject, and 
occupies the whole of the next three chapters (xii.-xiv.). 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 461 

57. To ivhat evils did these good things of God give rise ? 
To envies, jealousies, and unholy ambitions. 

58. How did the Apostle set about curing these spiritual dis- 
orders ? 

He proceeded to show by the analogue of the body, in which 
every organ is necessary to the completeness and efficiency 
of the whole, that the Church is also an organism to the com- 
pleteness and efficiency of which every member, however 
humble and inconspicuous, must contribute its part and per- 
form its function (xi.). He shows that, while the best gifts 
are not to be despised but earnestly coveted, these are not, 
after all, the perfection of manhood ; and then, setting it 
forth in all its queenly beauty, as "the greatest thing in the 
world" (xiii.), he exhorts them, as the "more excellent way," 
to "Follow after Love" (xiv. 1) as the object of their supreme 
ambition, and subordinately to prefer gifts that are useful to 
those that are showy, that would be for the edification of the 
Church rather than to attract attention to themselves (xiv.). 



THE CHARITY CHAPTER. 

59. What is xiii. ? 

It is a Psalm of Love— a Poem rather than a discourse— a 
Song rather than a sermon. However we may be disposed to 
regard its form, it is for substance a full-length portrait of the 
moral character of our Divine Redeemer as it was manifested 
when He was here among men "full of grace and truth." 
Always full of thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ, the 
Apostle, as he says, must have been "looking unto Jesus" 
when he drew this picture. And all that is needful to make 
this plain is the substitution throughout the Poem of the 
word Christ for the word Love, and the Psalm becomes at 
once illuminated, a life-like picture of the Loving Saviour. 

THE RESURRECTION. 

60. WJiai subjecf next engages the Apostle'^ s attention f 

The great foundation doctrine of Christianity— the Resur- 
rection of the Body, which he thoroughly expounds as to its 



462 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



grounds, its analogies, its necessity (xv.). This is one of the 
grandest and most precious portions of the Apostolic writings. 
No extant writing can compare with this chapter in its vafue 
to the Church, its power of convincing the mind and awaken- 
ing Christian hope, its far-seeing confutation of the cavils and 
scofTs of all after-ages against the Doctrine of the Resurrec- 
tion. 

61. By ivhat process of reasoning does the A^Dostle establish 
the doctrine of the Resurrection f 

The resurrection of our bodies being dependent upon the res- 
urrection of Christ, he establishes the fact of His resurrection : 
(1) Historically— wherein he avers that the risen Christ was 
seen and recognized by those who were personally acquainted 
with Him, more than two hundred and fifty of whom (6) 
were still living when he dictated these words (xv. l-H). (2) He 
next proves the resurrection of Christ by the use of what is 
known in logic as the reductio ad absurdum 2iVgwmer\i—th2ii 
is, by showing that were it not so we would be forced to con- 
clusions so absurd as to be not only ridiculous, but abhorrent to 
right reason as well— utterly incredible (13-20). (3) By the 
result of Christ's resurrection to us (20-28). (4) By corrobora- 
tive proofs (29-34). (5) By showing that such a thing as the 
resurrection is not only not incredible, but credible and possi- 
ble, as seen by analogies in nature (35-45). (6) He answers the 
objection as to the resurrection being a thing of the future by 
showing that it is according to the principle everywhere opera- 
tive, that the natural precedes the spiritual (46-49), and (7) he 
closes the whole argument by an assured declaration of the 
glorious fact as certainly future (50-58). 

62. What are the absurdities or incredibilities growing out of 
the denial of a resurrection f 

These are four: (1) That Christ is not risen (13) ; (2) that 
the Christian's faith is vain, that there is no redemption from 
sin (14) ; (3) that the Apostles are found false witnesses (15) ; 
and (4) that death is annihilation (18). 

63. What is the grand result of ChrisVs resurrection to us ? 

It is this : His resurrection is a pledge of the resurrection of 
all who share in His Humanity (20-28). 



FIRST CORINTHIANS. 463 

64. What corroborative j^roofs are given of the resurrection f 

Two : (1) the faith of Christians iri being baptized for the 
dead (29) ; and (2) the self-denial, the perpetual martyrdom 
of the Apostles, which would be inexplicable on any other 
theory than that of a future life (30). 

65. What in brief is PauVs argument for the resurrection ? 

He proves it (1) from the historical fact, and (2) by the ab- 
surdity which follows from denial of it ; and then (3) he shows 
that, so proved, it is only parallel to a thousand daily facts, by 
the analogies which he draws from the dying and upspringing 
corn, and the diverse glories of the sun, moon, and stars. 

66. What is the character of the resurrection body .^ 

It is not a m.ere restoration of the same earthly body in the 
same earthly form ; on the contrary, it is a glorious transfor- 
mation. Ceasing to be animal, it will become a spiritual 
body — an etherealized vehicle for the pure spirit lodged within 
it. It will be a glorious, Christ-like organism fitted to dwell 
amid the dazzling brightness of Heaven, and adapted to its 
new environment. 

67. What are the contents of the concluding chapter ? 
Besides the explanation of his own movements, and a number 

of miscellaneous directions and salutations, we have especially 
(1) his directions about the Collection for the Poor— Paul's 
philanthropy (1-4) ; (2) a fivefold exhortation (13, 14), and 
the Christian Anathema (22). 

68. What are some of the more remarkable passages in this 
wonderful Epistle ? 

That wherein Philosophy is challenged, confounded, and 
superseded by the Gospel (i. 20-31) ; the Christian's inventory 
(iii. 21-23), which reminds us of Romans viii. 38, 39 ; the Apos- 
tle's condition as contrasted with that of the indolent and self- 
complacent Corinthians (iv.7-13); the Christian's Confession 
of Faith (viii. 5, 6) ; the total abstinence pledge of viii. 13 ; the 
Psalm of Love in xiii. ; and the Resurrection Chant in xv. 

69. WJiat motto for Christians is set forth in this Epistle 9 
"Follow after Charity— Love" (xiv. 1). 



464 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

SECOND CORINTHIANS. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

1. How does this Second Epistle to the Corinthians compare 
with the First f 

Though a sequel to it, and occasioned largely by it, this 
Epistle is in strong contrast with the Apostle's previous letter 
to the Corinthians, as, indeed, it is with all his other Epistles 
as well. If the First Epistle is the most comprehensive and 
varied, this is the most personal and impassioned of all the 
Pauline writings. 

2. What are the distinctive features of this Second Epistle ? 

It is not a treatise, or an essay, or a discourse in which some 
of the great truths of Christianity are discussed and defended, 
as in the Romans and Gnlatians, or like the First, in which ques- 
tions of doctrine, as the Resurrection, of morals, of ceremony, 
of casuistry, of public worship, and respecting spiritual gifts, 
are one by one taken up and disposed of in the light of some 
broad principle of Christianity ; on the contrary, this Second 
Epistle is wholly personal ; its main subject is the Apostle 
himself— the vindication of his life and conduct against the 
foul aspersions that had been cast upon them by jealous rivals 
in the Church at Corinth. In tone apologetical or defensive 
throughout, it is the warm outpouring of the Apostle's heart. 
It is an Apostle's Autobiography— Paul's Life Written by 
Himself. 

3. What are the literary characteristics of this composition f 

It is the most emotional, and therefore in some respects— in 
its style, expressions, and casual connections — the most diffi- 
cult to enter into and appreciate of all Paul's writings. Conso- 
lation and rebuke, earnestness and. irony succeed one another 
at very short intervals and without notice. The laboring 
phraseology, the manner in which the Apostle is haunted and 
possessed and mastered by word after word which seizes his 
imagination — now "tribulation," now "consolation," now 
"boasting," now "weakness," now "simi^licity," now 



SECOND CORINTHIANS. 465 

"manifestation" — only serve to throw into relief the frequent 
bursts of rushing and impassioned eloquence. 

4. Does not this Epistle contain matter of general interest to 
the Church ? 

Yes, indeed ; though on a cursory reading and superficial 
examination it may not seem so. No writing of such a man 
could be otherwise than impregnated with mat'.er of universal 
interest. Hence, upon a closer reading and more mature ex- 
amination, it will be found that — even exclusive of the very 
important passages which here and there meet us, full of 
weighty revelations and of comfort for all ages of the Church — 
digressions so characteristic of the Apostle, who, turning aside 
from his own vindication, propounds some great principle 
dearer to him than himself^in the midst of the purely per- 
sonal portions we have continually occurring precious texts of 
world-wide import and of permanent value to the Church and 
mankind at large. 

5. In what does the special value of this Epistle consist ? 

In two things : First, it exhibits the way in which a Chris- 
tian may defend himself when he is maligned and misrepre- 
sented ; and, second, in that it forces on our attention the won- 
drous, Christ-like Humility of this great Apostle, wherein it is 
seen that, inspired though he was, he felt, and thought, and 
wrote as a man — that insiDiration flowed through roused hu- 
man feelings and passions. 

6. When and upon ivhat occasion was this Second Epistle 
written f 

It was written not long, probably only a few months, after 
the First, in the autumn of a.d. 57. After the First Epistle 
had been despatched the Apostle became so nervous and anx- 
ious (vii. 8) as to the manner in which it would be received 
and the effect it would produce at Corinth that, no longer able 
to go forward with his work at Ephesus, he started out on an 
evangelistic tour, going westward, in his eager desire to meet 
with Titus, who was to report to him the condition of things 
in Corinth and as to the reception accorded to and the effect 
of his letter. This messenger, a ministerial " brother," he met 
in Macedonia, probably at Philippi, and on hearing his report 

30 



466 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

immediately began to dictate this letter, which the same 
Titus should carry thence, going back with others on a special 
errand (ii. 12, 13 ; viii. 6 ; ix. 3). 

7. What was the character of the report made by Titus to the 
Apostle f 

It was of a mixed character, though generally favorable, fill- 
ing the Apostle's anxious heart with joy (i. 3-7 ; ii. 14-17 ; vii. 
13). The majority of the Church at Corinth had recognized 
the Apostle's authority and submitted to his injunctions, testi- 
fying thereby their deepest repentance for the sins into which 
they had fallen, and regret for the abuses that had grown up 
among them. The incestuous offender (1 Cor. v.) had been 
disciplined and excommunicated, and they had already con- 
tributed towards the collection for the poor Christians in Pales- 
tine (ii. 5, 6 ; vii. 8-13). On the other hand— a piece of intelli- 
gence the faithful messenger reluctantly made known to the 
Apostle— there was a persistent minority whose opposition 
seems to have been rather embittered than humbled by the 
submission which the great body of the Church had thus 
yielded, reiterating in louder tones than before their charges 
and insinuations against the Apostle. The existence of these 
two parties, the majority and the minority, the Pauline and 
the anti-Pauline factions, will explain the twofold character 
of this Epistle. Toward the former it overflows with love ; 
toward the latter it abounds with warning and menace. 

8. What was the nature of the charges they brought against 
the A]}ostle f 

They charged him with fickleness and irresolution ; with 
pride and tyranny on account of his severity towards the in- 
cestuous person ; accused him of vanity and weakness, and of 
being actuated with selfish and mercenary motives ; and also 
of general arrogance in his ministry, and a haughtiness of de- 
meanor little suited to the insignificance of his personal ap- 
pearance. 

9. What is the line of self-defence which the Apostle pursues f 

He scorns the idea of appealing to any letters of commenda- 
tion (iii.) or to any certificate of character from his brother 
Apostles, because he had received his own Apostolate direct 
from God ; and hence he is reluctantly forced to appeal on the 



SECOND CORINTHIANS.. 467 

one hand to his " visions and revelations," and on the other 
hand to the seal of approval which, in every way, God had set 
to his unparalleled activity and devotion. This accounts for 
his frequent use of the word "glorying," that is, boasting, 
which occurs in this Epistle no less than twenty-nine times. 

10. In what spirit does the Apostle conduct his defence f 

With the meekness and gentleness of Christ (x. 1). The 
language is that of injured innocence, and yet of most atfec- 
tionate expostulation. One by one he refutes all the charges ; 
one by one he calmly sets them aside ; and yet it is evident 
that, with all the firm manliness of his character, he had been 
— and no marvel, for he was but a man — wounded to the very 
quicli. Yet no word of resentment falls from his lips save only 
a sentence or two of affectionate bitterness, as xii. 13. 

11. What contracts in the life of Paul does this Epistle reveal f 

Tliose of sorrow and jo}'^, of humiliation and exaltation. The 
Apostle had been sick nigh unto death and liad been healed ; 
assailed as to his Apostleship and favored with the signs of an 
Apostle, even a rapture to the Third Heaven ; judged of man, 
vindicated of God ; harassed by the thorn in the flesh, j^et 
sustained by all-sufficient grace. The key-note of the closing 
message (xiii. 11), as of the opening salutation, is Comfort. 
Love grieved by their sins was comforted by their repentance 
(i. 3, 4; ii. 4; vii. 6, 7). 

12. What peculiar literary phenomenon does this Epistle mani- 
fest ? 

At the end of the ninth chapter there is a sudden, startling, 
and complete break in the whole manner and tone of the 
Epistle. The remainder (x.-xiii. 10) seems to be written in a 
mood so wholly different from that of the former that some 
have even supposed that it really was a separate Epistle. 
Vehement though suppressed indignation, scathing irony, 
strong denunciation, commanding authority, take the place of 
the pathetic tenderness and effusive thanl^fulness which are 
predominant in the previous chapters. Such change in tone, 
however, is found in otlier writings botli sacred and secular, 
and may be accounted for by circumstances under which the 
Aj)ostle wrote. 



468 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

DIVISIONS. 

13. How may the contents of this Epistle be divided ? 

Into three parts : (1) the hortatory and personal, with an 
undertone of calm apology (i.-vii.) ; (2) directions and remarks 
about the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem (viii., ix.) ; 
and (3) the Apostle's impassioned defence of himself and his 
Apostolic position against the calumnies of his enemies 
(x.-xiii.). 

THE PART PERSONAL. 

14. What are the main features of the first— the hortatory 
and personal— part of this Epistle f 

After his address and salutation (i. 1, 2), the Apostle breaks 
forth into a burst of thanksgiving for the comfort of God in 
which, as in his affliction, they sympathetically shared (i. 
3-11) ; he then vindicates his right to their sympathy, clearing 
himself of the charge of vacillation, explaining why he did 
not come to Corinth as he had originally proposed (i. 12-ii. 4) ; 
and begs for a charitable treatment of the penitent offender 
(ii. 5-11) ; while in view of his meeting with Titus he breaks 
out into another burst of thanksgiving (ii. 12-17). The Apostle 
next defends himself against the charge of egotism and self- 
recommendation by pointing out that such a thing is un- 
necessary as his work spoke for itself; and in so doing he .ex- 
hibits a contrast between the New Dispensation and the Old 
(iii.), and shows how the glory of such a ministry as that of 
the Gospel (iv. 1-6) sustains the hearts of Christ's servants 
among all weaknesses and trials (iv. 7-15), especially by the 
faith of things unseen and the hope of a future life (iv. 16-v. 
10) ; and leads to an enthusiastic self-devotion on the part of 
so glorious a ministry — the ministry of reconciliation — which 
would explain what seemed unaccountable in his life and 
conduct (v. 11-19). 

The Apostle then in his high character as an Ambassador for 
Christ earnestly entreats the people, and not only so, but as 
a fellow-worker with God, exhorts them, and enforces his ex- 
hortation by the example of his own self denying ministry in 
their behalf, not to receive the grace of God which bringeth 
salvation in vain — that is, without it bringing forth its own 
proper fruits in their lives (v. 20-vi. 10). 



SECOND CORINTHIANS. 469 

In an outburst of feeling the Apostle then appeals to the 
Corinthians to reciprocate his affection and to make it mani- 
fest by separating themselves as the children of God from all 
unholy associations, heathen immoralities, and questionable 
practices (vi. 11-vii. 1). 

The Apostle then fairly opens his heart to his Corinthian 
Children in the Gospel, explains the object of his First Epistle, 
and expresses his joy at the good results it had brought about 
(vii. 2-16). 

THE GRACE OF LIBERALITY. 

15. What is the subject of the Second Division of this E^^istle f 

Christian Liberality or Beneficence : its nature, motives, 
measure, method and reward — all of which are discussed in 
these chapters in such a way as to be a complete tractate and 
manual on the subject for the Church in every age (viii., ix.). 

THE GREAT APOLOGETIC. 

16. Wliat is the subject of the third and last division of this 
Second Epistle to the Corinthians f 

Paul's direct personal defence against his rivals and adver- 
saries, and his impassioned vindication of his Apostolic posi- 
tion as compared with that of his opponents (x.-xiii. 10). 

17. How does this part of the Ep)istle differ from the previous 
portions 9 

It is so mucn more vehement and severe than the earlier 
sections, and there is so complete a change in the stj^le and 
tone of the writing, that many have been led to suppose that 
this is in reality another letter. The supposition is, however, 
without sufficient warrant ; but it does not much matter, since 
there is no dispute about the writer being the aggrieved Apos- 
tle of the Gentiles. 

18. Of what special value is this part of the Epistle f 

It is very precious both as letting us into the personal char- 
acter of the Apostle, and as abounding with rich gems of 
Faith, Hope, and Christian Charity. 



470 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

19. How does the Apostle proceed with his vindication 9 

Plunging at once into his subject, with a solemn appeal he 
declares in x. his Apostolic character (1-8), and that, in 
answer to the taunt of his opponents, he will exercise his 
authority in person (9-11). He then shows that his esti- 
mate of himself is formed on very difTerent methods from 
those of his adversaries (12-16), and that he referred all 
grounds of boasting solely to the judgment of God (17, 18). 

Driven by his opponents against his will into a semblance 
of boasting, in xi. he apologizes for the foolishness thereof 
(1-4). He is not afraid of comparisons (5, G), and will not 
recede from his despised practice of teaching gratuitously 
(7-15). The Apostle makes a second apology for his boasting 
which was rendered necessary by the outrageous conduct of 
his opponents (16-20) ; while he details at length his privileges, 
life, and labors (21-33). 

In xii. he shows that revelations are vouchsafed to him (1-6), 
but also the counteracting thorn in the flesh (7-10). Another 
apology follows (11, 12). He next shows his disinterestedness 
(13-15), and indignantly refutes the charge that he made gain 
of them indirectly through the agency of subordinates (16-18), 
and adds caution and warnings (19-21). 

In xiii., with words of warning (1-4), words of exhortation 
(5, 6), words of prayer (7), words of comfort (8-10), and words 
of benediction (11-14), the whole Epistle is brought to a close. 



MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 

20. What tendencies of the Corinthian Christians are reap- 
pearing in our own time f 

Some are disposed, like the Petrines, to unduly value law 
and ritual ; some, like the Pauline party (erroneously quoting 
the Apostle in support of tlieir tiieory), turning liberty into 
license, aspire to freedom from all law ; some, like the party 
of Apollos, incline to a literary religion ; and some, like the 
Christ-party, to pietism and subjective Christianity. Against 
all these dangers which threaten the Church must be opposed 
those principles which Paul drew from the teaching of Christ 
and wdiich are preserved for the use of the Church in all ages 
in these two immortal Epistles to the Church at Corinth. 



SECOND CORINTHIANS. 471 

21. What are some of the most notable passages in this Epis- 
tle f 

The Apostle's bursts of thanksgiving in i. 3, 4, and ii. 14-17 ; 
the contrast of the two dispensations in iii. ; the Apostolic 
experiences of iv. 7-11, and xi. 23-31 ; the Christian'sv confi- 
dence, as set forth in iv. 14- v. 10 ; Apostolic enthusiasm and 
self-devotion, as described in v. 13-19 ; and the portraiture of 
a fellow-worker with God as painted in vi. 4-10 ; the exhorta- 
tion to Christian purity of vi. 14-vii. 1 ; and the description of 
true repentance in vii. 9-11. 

22. What gems bestud the pages of this Second Epistle to the 
Corinthians ? 

The source of ministerial comfort in affliction (i. 12) ; trans- 
formation by beholding (iii. 18) ; the constraint of love (v. 14) ; 
Christian completeness (viii. 7) and the miglitiest motive (viii. 
8) ; the Divine all-sufficiency (ix. 8) ; tlie farewell exhortation 
(xiii. 11), and the full Apostolic Benediction— the only place 
where it occurs (xiii. 14). 

23. How is God pictured to us in these Apostolic writings ? 

Not in that wire-drawn, fine, finical character in which He 
is too often skeletonized in theology ; or as a mere abstraction, 
as in creeds ; but He is here presented in a concrete fashion in 
His practical relations to the human, the individual heart, 
and the wants of the world, as in 2 Cor. iii. 4. Neither tlie- 
ology nor philosophy can make God known to us. In tlie 
Gospel — in the writings of eitlier Testament — God is not ana- 
lyzed, or philosophized, or synthetized as He is in these 
academic departments of secular and sacred learning. " He 
that hath seen Me," saith our Lord, " hath seen the Father." 

24. ]V7iat is the key-thought^ the theme^ of Second Corinthians ? 
Comfort in Affliction, as illustrated in the life of Paul. 



472 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



GALATIANS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. Whe7^e and what was Galatia f 

It was one of the northern central provinces of Asia Minor, 
in area about equal to that of the State of New Jersey, and 
bordering upon the Euxine or Black Sea. 

2. Whence did it derive its name ? 

From the word Gaul, this name being given to that region 
by the Gauls from the region of the Rhine, who, 300 years 
before Christ, conquered the country and settled in it ; just 
as States, territories, and cities in America are named after 
places in the Fatherland by the immigrants therefrom or their 
descendants, when their numbers are large enough, or wield 
sufficient influence to decide the matter. 

3. What was the character of the Qalatians as reflected in this 
Epistle ? 

. Even as Caesar painted it— " fickle in taking up plans and 
fond of change and innovation." In this respect they resem- 
bled the modern French, and combined in tlieir character 
quick temper, prompt action, inconstancy, and changeableness. 
Like the inhabitants of the surrounding country, the Galatians 
were pagans, and their system of religion or idolatry was of a 
gross and debasing kind. 

4. To whose agency was the conversion of the Galatians to 
Christianity due ? 

To Paul's chiefly, if not entirely (Acts xvi. G ; xviii. 23 ; 1 
Cor. xvi. 1). This took place six or seven years prior to the 
writing of this letter, probably about 50 a.d. 

5. Of what elements were the Churches composed ? 

The population of the province being composed of Phrygian, 
Greek, Roman, Gallic, and Jewish peoples, it is fair to presume 
that all these elements would be represented in tlie Christian 
congregations. The Galatians, however, were, it is plain to be 
seen, largely in the ascendant ; while the Jews, who had estab- 



GALATIANS. 473 

lished themselves in all the large towns, constituted, undoubt- 
edly, a large and important element in the Churches of Galatia. 

6. What called forth this Epistle to the Galatians? 

It sprung out of two circumstances both belonging to the 
same growing apostasy on the part of that fickle people. 
Though they had received the Apostle with great enthusiasm 
when he first preached the Gospel among them (iv. 15), they 
soon, true to their character, began to relapse into Jewish ritu- 
alism — which, like Romish rites, appealed more to the natural 
sense of a rude and superstitious people, and had for them a 
greater fascination than the non-ceremonial and simple spirit- 
ual worship called for by the Pauline Gospel — and, as a matter 
of course, also at the solicitation of the Judaizing teachers, 
to repudiate the authority of Paul himself, as being without 
Apostolic authority. The result of all this was dissensions and 
strifes which threatened the disruption, if not the destruction, 
of the Church. 

7. What was the design of this Epistle ? 

It was written with the general view of correcting these evil 
tendencies, but with the primary purpose of stating and de- 
fending, as in the Epistle to the Romans, that great cardinal 
doctrine of the Christian system, which Luther rightly called 
"the article of a standing or a falling Church" — Justification 
by Faith. 

8. Hoiv does Galatians compare with Romans? 

They were both written with the same general design, the 
former, which was the earlier work of the two, being, as it 
were, a first draft of the later more elaborate, finished, and 
rounded production. There is this difference, moreover, in 
the scope of the two — that whereas Romans was written to 
show that man could not be justified by any wortcs of the law, 
or by conformity to any law, moral or ceremonial ; this con- 
fines itself within a more limited range, its object being to 
show that that justification cannot be obtained by conformity to 
the law of Moses— the ritual or ceremonial law— or that the ob- 
servance of the Mosaic law is not necessary to salvation. Gala- 
tians is only one-third as long as Romans ; while the argument, 
being throughout more Babbinical or Jewish^ it is more diffi- 



474 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

cult for a non-Hebrew to follow, and without a complete 
knowledge of Old Testament story cannot be understood or 
appreciated. The parallelisms between the two are numerous 
and striking. 

9. Wliaf has this Epistle in common with those to the Corin- 
thians ? 

This — in Galatia and Corinth, as, indeed, everywhere else, 
with the view of defeating Paul's efTorts to propagate a free 
Gospel, his Judaizing rivals and opponents sought to ruiu his 
iutluence by undermining his authority as an Apostle, and in 
all three letters he vigorously confutes their assertions and de- 
fends himself against their base insinuations and open accusa- 
tions. 

10. What great serince have these two doctrinal Epistles — the 
Bomans a7id Galatians— rendered the Church of Christ ? 

They were the theological arsenals whence Luther and his 
colleagues drew the doctrinal artillery with which they fought 
the battles of the Reformation, and they form to-day the Magna 
Charta of Evangelical Protestantism. The two together are a 
Bible in themselves. 

11. Wherein does the special value of Galatians consist f 

In that, in whatsoever forms they manifest themselves, it 
opposes all false gospels with the true and only Gospel ; in that 
it smites self-righteousness and religious externalism root and 
branch, hip and thigh, and teaches that a man, in order to be 
Justified, must believe in Christ, and, in order to be Sancti- 
fied, must L)e crucified with Christ— that is, dead to all else 
besides. Full of animation, argument and reproof, but above 
all and l>est of all, full of grace, this Epistle teaches a lesson 
for all time— that Sinners are Saved by Grace, and that Saints 
are preserved by Grace. 

12. What is a striking characteristic of this Epistle f 

It is full of contrasts : Grace is in contrast with Law, and 
Faith with Works ; the fruits of the Spirit are set over against 
the works of the Flesh ; Circumcision is opposed to the New 
Creation, and the World to the Cross. 



GALATIANS. 475 

13. To what element in the Galatian Churches is this Epistle 
specially add^^essed ? 

To the Gentile part of their membership — those who were 
called upon by the Judaizers to submit to circumcision and to 
keep the law of Moses. Both, argument and appeal are 
directed to them immediately. The Apostle is here the cham- 
pion of the freedom of Gentile Christians as opposed to the 
bondage of Mosaism ; of Protestant independence upon Christ, 
to a servile subjection to a Papal hierarchy. 

14. How may this Epistle be briefly characterized ? 

Either as a burst of indignant feeling at those who sought 
to overturn the Gospel by denying its fundamental tenet ; or 
an admonition of the fickle-minded Frenchmen of the first 
century because their love and zeal had turned to ceremonial- 
ism. 

CONTENTS. 

15. Hoiu are toe to understand the disagreement between Paul 
and Peter referred to in iii. 11-14? 

Not as any opposition of Pauline to Petrine vie^vs ; for Peter 
had been fully converted to the Pauline conceptions of Gospel 
freedom (Acts xv.), and had proved his full adoption of the 
new law of liberty by mingling socially with the Gentiles (ii. 
12). It was not any doctrinal difference between these two 
great men that called forth so sharp and stinging a rebuke of 
the senior on the part of the junior Apostle ; it was history 
repeating itself in the case of Peter ; it was his moral cowardice 
and dissimulation, his Christian inconsistency, his unfaithful- 
ness to his principles and his playing the hypocrite, that so 
inflamed the indignation of Paul and caused him to v/ithstand 
Peter to the face. The whole question of Gentile freedom was 
involved in the temporizing of the faithless Apostle ; hence 
the boldness and the faithfulness of him whom the same gen- 
erous and forgiving Peter afterwards alludes to as "our be- 
loved brother Paul." 

16. What moral lesson does this tem,porary iveakness of Peter 
teach us f 

That verily even this "Elias was a man subject to like pas- 



476 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

sions as we are," and that therefore we need to lay to heart the 
Apostolic injunction— "Let liim that thinketh he standeth, 
take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. x. 12). 

17. At ivhat point does PauVs address to Peter on this occasion 

end f 

About this there is a difference of opinion. 8ome think it 
ends with ii. 14, and others that it continues to the end of the 
chapter. There is in John iii. a parallel passage in which it 
is most difficult, if not impossible, to tell where our Lord's 
discourse with Nicodemus ends and the Evangelist's own 
words begin. -So it is here. In neither case happily is the 
determination of the matter of any vital importance, the 
teaching of the passages being in no way afTected whichever 
view is taken. In this case it seems most probable tliat the 
direct address ends with ii. 14, but that, turning from the 
guilty Apostle, Paul went on without any stop to speak to the 
people in whose presence the rebuke was administered, and to 
state to them fully the doctrine of justification, and which he 
reported now to the Galatians as setting forth to them also the 
only way in which any man can be justified in the sight of 
God (ii. 15-21). 

18. What are some of the leading words in this Epistle, and 
how often do they occur ? 

Law occurs 20 times; Faith, 21 times; Fi.ESH-corrupt 
human nature, 17 times; Gospel, 11 times; Justify, 8 times; 
Grace, 7 times ; and Works, times. All these words have 
the same meaning in this Epistle that they have in Komans. 

19. ]VJiat are the general divisions of this Epistle f 

These are three: (1) the part Apologetic in which Paul de- 
fends his Ajmstolic authority (i.-ii. 14); (2) the Doctrinal 
division in which the Apostle expounds and illustrates the 
doctrine of Justification by Faith (ii. 15-iv.) ; and (3) the Hor- 
tatory and Practical part (v., vi.). 

20. What are the main points in the part Apologetic ? 

There is the customary salutation with an added doxology 
(i. 1-5) ; the astonishment and sorrow of the Apostle at the 



GALATIANS. 

Galatian instability and inconstancy (i. 6-lv) ; the account 
his conversion and commission wliicli, witho \ any hiirai 
intervention, was directly from God (i. 11-17), ^uul was 
acknowledged by the other Apostles at Jerusalem (i. l8-ii. 10 . 
and the statement that, acting under this Divine Comir ^ i > 
he had actually confronted the senior Apostle himself, charuiiig 
him with faithlessness and inconsistency in the discharge', f 
his duty (ii. 11-14). The Apostle's Apology or defence properly 
begins with i. 11, the earlier portion being of the nature of an 
introduction to the entire Epistle. 

21. What are the chief points the Apostle makes in the doc- 
trinal part ? 

He shows that whereas the Jews were now insisting upon an 
observance of the Mosaic law as necessary to salvation, as a 
matter of fact Abraham himself was not saved by any such 
law, seeing that the law was of an ex-post facto character, not 
being given for 450 years after the Promise was made to that 
patriarch (Gen. xii. 1-3) ; and that even when it was given, it 
was not with the design of being perpetual and permanent, 
but only transient and temporary, and with only pedagogic 
functions, viz., to lead the people to Christ as the end and 
fulfilment of it; and that as a consequence salvation was by 
faith in Jesus Christ and not by the ritualistic requirements 
of the Mosaic institute (iii.) ; and that in Jesus Christ be- 
liev^ers pass from children to sons, from minority to majority, 
from bondage to liberty in conscious sonship and heirship 
(iv.). 

22. What does Paul mean in iv. 24 luhen he speaks of Isaac 
and Ishmael as being " the two covenants'''' ? 

Simply that from their different maternity these two sons 
represent or furnish an apt illustration of what the nature of 
these two covenants — that of the Law and the Gospel — really 
was. So also Hagar and Sarah are intended to represent or 
illustrate the significance of the two Mountains Sinai and 
Calvary, just as in the Lord's Supper the bread and the wine 
are not, but only represent the broken body and shed blood of 
our Lord. The children of Sinai or Hagar are slaves ; those 
of Calvary or Sarah are free. 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 

•_:;;. si ts meant by the phrase '■'' fallen from grace'^ in v. 4 ? 

r ,ord grace in this connection manifestly means not 
])i tal religion^ but the System of S.ilvation by grace, in 
* I ^tradistinction from tliat by merit or by works— tlie system 
jf the Gospel. To ftiU from grace in such sense is to apostatize 
from the religion of Christ, and to relapse into legalism in 
the vain hope of securing salvation by the works of the law. 
It is in fact to substitute bondage for freedom — Moses for 
Christ. 

24. Wliat docs the Apostle mean by the double negation of 
V. 6 and vi. 15? 

This grand formula which this Apostle uses here twice in 
such close proximity, he had already used in writing to the 
Corinthians (1 Cor. vii. 19), and is one of those grand generali- 
zations characteristic of the inspired writings. It is a sentence 
which at once proves the Apostle's great originality, his utter 
fearlessness, and sums up his idea of the liberty which it had 
cost him^ endless peril and anguish to achieve. In these 
sentences he sets forth what true religion is — what is non- 
essential to it, and what are the grand es.sentials of it— what is 
nothing in the Christian life and what is everything— what is 
merely scaffolding and what the building is in the construction 
of which it serves only as a means. These golden sentences 
are double-edged swords which smite alike the ritualist and 
him who boasts himself of his freedom from forms in the 
worship of God and in the service of Christ. 

25. What does the Ax)Ostle mean by the apjoarent contradiction 
in vi. 2, 5? 

In the first verse he is exhorting simply to the performance 
of a Christian duty in aiding one another to overcome the 
peculiar temptations to which each individual is liable; in the 
second of these two verses the Apostle means to say that every 
man shall have his own proper reward. If he is virtuous he 
will be happy ; if a vicious person, he must suffer the conse- 
quences of his immorality. At the last great day every man 
will be rewarded according as his work has been. 



GALATIANS. 479 

26. What great principle does the Apostle announce in his 
warning in vi. 8, 9 ? 

That of reproduction in kind — a most weighty truth which 
should be seriously considered by every soul on his way to the 
judgment. 

27. What does the Apostle mean by " the cross'' ^ in vi. 14? 

It stands here for the Gospel, in which the grand central 
doctrine is the Propitiatory Sacrifice made by our Lord as the 
substitute for sinners. It is that which makes the Gospel what 
it is— the Power of God unto Salvation. 

28. What great practical truths are emphasized in this letter f 

That holiness is not the ground but the fruit of salvation, 
and inseparable from it ; and that but little dependence can be 
placed on ardor of religious feeling as proof of the strength of 
religious principle (iv. 15, 20). 

29. What relation does the ethical and practical part of this 

Epistle sustain to the doctrinal f 

The most intimate and vital. In v. 1 the Apostolic There- 
fore shows that the foundation of Cliristian ethics is laid 
strong and broad in Christian doctrine. The Cross, which is 
the hope of Justification, is the pledge also of Sanctification. 
Paul is not among those who seek to promote holiness by the 
omission of that Greast Sacrifice on which our faith is founded, 
by which our gratitude is excited and we are made capable of 
virtue. Not in these w^ritings is ethical Christianity magnified 
at the expense of the doctrinal Christianity of which it is the 
living outcome. We have not here, as in many modern writ- 
ings which pretend to be evangelical, the Gospel with the 
Gospel omitted. Paul was not that sort of an Ev^angelist. As 
in the Temple of old the altar of burnt-offering stood in the 
foreground, so here in the outer court of the New Testament 
Church, in the centre and forefront of all, and as the basis of 
all, stands the Cross, the Great Propitiatory, Jesus Christ, 
the Sacrifice and Substitute for Sinners. 

30. What is the grand annoiincernent this Epistle makes to 
Jew and Oendle alike ? 

"Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ 

Jesus"— (iii. 26). 



480 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

31. What 2^(issage in this Epistle may be said to be the Golden 
Text of all PauVs writings f 

" God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of 
OUR Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified 
unto me and I unto the World"— (vi. 14). 

32. How many crucifixions are there in vi. 14? 

Three. As upon Calvary our Lord was crucified between 
two thieves, so here, on the one side the world wliich, like the 
malefactor on His left hand in the great tragedy itself, dies 
hard and impenitent ; and on the other Paul the penitent who 
had formerly sought to rob Him of His glory, but who now, 
constrained by His love, gladly yields up his will and life to 
His Divine control. 

33. What is notable about the concluding paragraph^ vi. 11- 

18? 

Whether the previous part of the Epistle was written by the 
Apostle's own hand or not, this, at least, certainly was. It is 
autographic. In its bold, large, irregular characters, which 
reflect the energy and determination of his soul, the Apostle 
traced those immortal words which have been the inspiration 
of multitudes of ministers and the emancipation of myriads of 
souls—" God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ;" " In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision 
availeth anything, nor Uncircumcision, but the New Creation." 
And as in that magnificent finale of the twin Epistle to the 
Romans, the Apostle, with open diapason, sounding the depths 
of the whole glorious composition, struck its triple chord — uni- 
versality, faith, and free grace — so here, in a like fashion, catch- 
ing tone from all that precedes, striking the triple chord of this 
Epistle also, — reasserting his Apostolic authority, restating his 
doctrine, and reinforcing his practical admonitions— in terse, 
eager, disjointed sentences he sums up the main lessons of the 
whole. The autographic conclusion is, in fact, the whole 
Epistle in miniature. 



EPHESIANS. 481 



EPHESIANS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. Who were the Ephesians f 
Inhabitants of the City of Ephesus. 

2. Where and what was Ephesus ? 

It was the most important commercial city of Asia Minor, 
" one of the eyes of Asia," Smj^rua, 40 miles to the north, being 
the other. It stood hard by the shores of the ^gean or Icarian 
Sea. Its inhabitants were noted for luxury and voluptuous- 
ness, and for the practice of magical arts. In Roman times it 
was the metropolis of proconsular Asia, and unquestionably 
rose to a degree of splendor that was surpassed by few, if any, 
oriental cities. 

3. For what was Ephesus celebrated in the Apostle's day f 

Its three world-famous buildings — the Temple of Diana, 
which was of extreme magnificence and was 220 years in build- 
ing ; its Theatre, which, it was claimed, seated 50,000 people ; 
and its Stadium, or Circus, 685 feet long by 200 feet wide, an 
arena in which the E^Dhesian people witnessed foot-racings, 
wrestlings, and fights with wild beasts. The city has long 
been a complete desolation. 

4. Wa^ this Ejnstle really addressed to the Church at Epjh- 
esus f 

The words "at Ephesus" in the first verse are not con- 
sidered genuine, which throws a doubt upon the Church or 
persons to whom the letter was addressed, although not deci- 
sive against its destination being the Ephesian Church, as com- 
monly supposed. Some regard the Epistle as being a circular 
letter addressed to all the Churches in Asia Minor, and perhaps 
still wider districts — a theory, however, against w^liich lie in- 
superable objections. Another and the most probable opinion 
is, that this Epistle was not addressed to a Church at all, but 
to Gentile Christians as such, and not as a merely constituent 
part of any local church whatever; and furthermore, that 

31 



4^S- TIIK TKMn.K OPKXED. 

*' tho Kpistlo ftv>iu I^\vhUoo{% " (CoL iv\ 16) is (his Epistle— Uio 
Kpistle to the Kphosiaus sixaIKhI. 

5. }\"^at U M<^ prmc^ixil o^^'rWtoH to fAc ofHnion that thk 

Paul had syvut thivo years as iv\stor of (ho Churx^h at Eph 
csus, aiui yo( in (his Kpistlo, emurary to his usual oustoni, ho 
luakos no rofoixMKV \vhalo\^*r (o (ho ft»o(, nor sondsauy irrooliug 
(o any ono. The Episdo is wholly general in i(i4 character. 

tv i« ctrfamt^ as to (he dc^maiion i^f th€ JSpisHic qf an^ vitaJ 
moment f 

No ; It is of no gTx>at in\iv^r(anoo, as i( invoU'es no tiuostion 
either of ihx'trii\o or vluty. Hoiuv it is hoiv ivgariU>ii as Iving, 

as it purports to K\ an l->ois:lo to tho Ivpho^inns. 

fM Kphcsusf 

Hy (ho A|>tvs(lo l^\ul hiuisi^lf alxnit from M^^T a,i\ Tho his- 
(ory of l^uU's ovMuuvtion with (his city and ohurv^h is nwrvUnl 
in Ac(s xviii. hS-xx. 1, 17 >>S. When (ho Ainv^do visi(<\i Kph- 
esus i( w;is (ho n\i\s( splendid soa( of idolatry in tho whole 
l^iiK^n world. Thoix^ wort^ SjUan's eanip and ivurt, Diana's 
Toniplo, IXMnotrius and (ho Silver Shrines, M;\^ieal lkv>ks, o(e. 
And the i\\tsv>n why the A^vvitlo s|XMit so larsTi^ a \H>rtioti of his 
n\inistorial litV thert^ v^hiw yeai-s), and John at^or him (^who 
made i( his ix^rmanonl alvHiodnrinsr many of (he cUvsinjj yt^rs 
of his lonij life) was, that the Aill \vnvor of (ho tnvjvl should Iv 
(rii\i thert% and that Kphesus should IxwMne as importai\t a 
tvntre of intluenee in (ho C^hristian world as it had Ixvn in 
Taiiun and in civil art^nrs. And, as a matter of <V*c(> Kphesus 
w,\s one of (he four oapitals of primitive Christianity. 

S. i>t>rt? tJiis KpiMIt' f>rar any done f>G&cmhlancc to an^ other 
in the Pautmc collection f 

Yes; it is (o the Kpistlo (o (ho Colossians what tho Kpistlo 
(o the Homans is U> that to the italatians. .\s to their suhi<vt- 
ma((er, (hey are a sor( of twin Kpistlos : while in tho order of 
(heir pixxhiction (he Kpistlo (o (ho t>>hvssians is (ho earlier of 
the two, that to the Kphesians Iving, like the I^^uans^ a great 



KIMIRSIANS. 



483 



oflsprhig, jyivalor (luiii i\w \y.\vcui, iinltnu'iK!; {\\c y;c\\cv'A\ sul>- 
jool of wini'h (ho othor (rt^adni. Ami \wvv «';m l>i> plainly s(>on 
tho fuisror(iiiuM>r (hr chronolouii'al luisplaconitMil ol'thi* Hooks 
in (lu> Now TostMnuMit Canon, rovorsini;-, ns il dors, Iho order 
of Apostt)lit' (iii»n,uhl and dovi'lopnioid, l»y placiniv (lial which 
is tn(»ro coniprohonsivo and <'«>inplo(i' hoforr (hal which is niori^ 
linnloil in scope ami rndinuMila! in ciiaraclcr. 

0, ]y/i(rt cimonsfton'c srrrcs fa fuuihtt n (he vnhtc of (hv srnfi- 
nt( nfs ('.v/)r('s,'<('({ in f/iis F.ji'inth' ? 

'V\w fact (hat w1um» i(s ojowin*;- periods wiMt> pcnn(>d lis 
an(hor was in honds, a prisoner a( Ivonie ; jnsi as in OKI 'l\>s(a- 
n»ei\( (inies, in (hedarkes( hour o( (he t 'hureh's ca|)(ivi(y, Ks 
prophe(s candid (he hri;;h(es( !;liinpses of i(s (^(ure j;U>i'.V' ^^' 
was under similar eircunistances, [oo^ (ha( l>unyau wrote his 
imnior(al allei;ory (he riljvrim's Progross. 

I(). What teas (fic (fcsii/n of fhis /^pisfh'/ 

'roeonlirm (he liphesians and o(1um- Asia(ic churches in (lu* 
(rue (ai(h and prac(iee oi' (hedosptd; (o nanove any Ceelin^M 
o\' dis(rus( or discourauHMmad which (he in(eUij;eut'(» ol' hin 
iniprisoinuen( a( lvonu> miiih( have produced in (heir minds; 
and (o preven( (h;d cirianns(Mnce luani;' (aken advaidai;\> of hy 
.lewish /,ealo(s (o K)wtM" Paul's Apos(olic au( horily , ov oppose ( lu» 
jirea( (ru(h in which he gloried (he UnKy and Universaldy 
of the Church as (he \\ok\\ oi' CiiKlsr. 



11. \\'h((f csdniafc is (/owndli/ phurd on ////n hlpi^tU' (o (he 
I'lphcsians f 

I( is u'tajerally eoncinKHl (o be Ww riclu\s( and nol)U>s( of all 
(lu> rauline l<ipis(U\>^. I( is cer(ainly riMnarkal)K> Cora petadiar 
pa(hos ami tdevadon o'i (houuhl ami I'eelinu. I( is an unrt^- 
s( rained anil t>viMi rap(urous ou(pi)UiMi\,i;' of (he nnnd and lu>ar( 
of (he Apt>s{le, as he expa(ia(ed upon (he hi,i;hes( ami i;ramU>s|. 
of all possible themes. His whole soul seiMus to have Ihhmi 
lilled with the transeemlenl ext'ellem*y of (he priviU\i;\^s and 
hopes of believers In (MiuiS'r, the all-eomprehensive eharaeter 
o{ the Christian Dispcaisadon, uiid i(s eer(ain triumphs and 
glorit)Us results. In this lOpistle, as in Ivomans viii., tlu» Apos- 
tle reaehes the sublinnty of inspired udiianci^ and ri>vela(ions. 
It is Paul's Third Heaven Kpistle. In i( he soars from (he 



484 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

depths of ruin to the heights of Redemption, dwelling largely 
on the "heavenly things in Christ." 

12. What class of 2^€rso7is has the A2^osUc specially before his 
mind in this Ex)istle ? 

Though tlie Epistle is addressed to Christians as such, it is 
plain from the recurrence of the "we" and the "ye" in the 
early part of it, that tlie Apostle has in mind both Jewish 
Christians and those of Gentile antecedents. The early 
churches were, as a rule, composed of both elements, and 
this church at Ephesus stands as a type, a sample of the 
Church universal. 

THE THEME. 

13. How may the contents of this E^ivitle be divided f 

As is usual with Paul's doctrinal Epistles, into two parts: 
(1) the doctrinal part (i.-iv. 16) ; (2) the hortatory and practi- 
cal ]^art (iv. 17-vi.). 

14. What great truth is emjyhasized in this Epistle f 

The Union, the Identitication, the Oneness, of Believers 
with Christ. In this Epic of the New Testament Christ's 
life is representative and typical : In Him the Believer is all 
and has all. In Him he has his true probation, justification, 
sanctiftcation, and prospective glorification. 

15. Wliat is the theme of this Epistle f 

The contents will yield to a little different treatment, which, 
however, comes to about the same thing in either case, accord- 
ing to the point of view from wliich we look at them. If with 
the Apostle we start at its source and trace the stream of salva- 
tion as it flows down and out into the world, we shall liave for 
our theme the Electing Love of God ; but if, reversing tlie 
process and beginning wMth its manifestations in the world, 
we trace the stream of salvation to its source, we shall have 
for our theme the Church— the Church in her mystery, glory, 
and blessedness — in the eternal principles of her life, her unity 
of many members, her warfare and victory, her steady growth 
and her glorious end. 



EPHESIANS. 485 

16. Taking Electing Love as the theme, into how many divi- 
sions does the Epistle fall 9 

Eight : (1) the Person making the choice— God (i. 3) ; (2) 
the objects of that choice — us (i. 4) ; (3) the basis of that choice 
— in Him — Christ (i. 4) ; (4) the end of that choice — Holiness 
(i. 4) ; (5) tlie agent by which tlie end of this choice is to be 
attained — the Holy Spirit (specifically mentioned i. 13 ; ii. 
18, 22 ; iii. 16 ; iv. 30 ; v. 18, but everywhere implied through- 
out the Epistle) ; (6) the means and instrumentalities by which 
the Holy Spirit w^orks to achieve this end, (a) the ministry 
(iii. 1-13 ; iv. 11-14) ; (6) the spiritual panoply (vi. 10-18) ; (7) 
the final end of this choice — the glory of God (i. 6, 12) ; (8) 
the wondrous mercy and grace of this choice (i. 5). 

17. Taking the Church as the them,e of this Epistle, luhat are 
its divisions 9 

Threefold— The Church Universal ; its Ground, Course, Aim, 
and End. All through the Epistle this threefold division is 
found. The Origin of the Church in the Will of the Father 
(i.) ; the Course of the Church by the Satisfaction of the Son 
(ii.) ; and the Scope and Aim of the Church — Life in the 
Holy Spirit (iii.-iv. 16). These three things, it has been ob- 
served, run through the whole, dividing the doctrinal part of 
the Epistle first into these three larger portions, and then in 
those portions carrying out the same order in every paragraph, 
and almost in every sentence. 

18. What is the gist of the practical part of this Epistle 9 

Here the Saints are exhorted to such a life as comports with 
the present dignity and future glory of their high calling. 
In particular the Apostle urges the duty of preserving unity 
(iv. 1-16), and makes the relation of Christ to His Church 
and the Church to Christ the ideal standard of the domestic 
relation between man and wife (v. 22-33), and parents and 
children (vi. 1-9). He enforces, by motives peculiar to the 
Gospel, an exemplary discharge of all relative duties ; con- 
cluding with animated exhortations to fortitude, watchfulness, 
and prayer, a commendation of Tychicus the bearer of the 
Epistle, and the Apostolic benediction. Truth, Purity, Love, 
Marriage, Service— these are the ethical duties upon which 
the Apostle chiefly dwells in this Epistle. 



486 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

19. Under ivhat figures is the relation between Christ and 
His Church set forth in this Epistle? 

The Church is the Building or Temple of which He is the 
corner-stone (ii. 19-22} ; the Body of which He is the Head 
(iv. 11-16) ; the Bride of whom He is the Bridegroom — its 
Oneness with Him, and inseparableness from Him (v. 22-33). 

20. What is the meaning of the word '''■mystery''^ of which the 
Apostle speaks in this Epistle ? 

This word, which occurs six times in this Epistle, does not 
mean something incomprehensible, that cannot be understood, 
but simply (as here, and elsewhere throughout the New Testa- 
ment) something that has been concealed or hidden, but which 
when revealed is as clear and level to the comprehension as 
any other. The mystery to which the Apostle here refers and 
that tilled his soul with such exultant emotions, was the reve- 
lation to him and others of the purpose of God, formed in 
eternity, to incorporate into the Sacred Unity of tlie Church 
the Gentiles whom, as Jews, they had been accustomed to 
regard as beyond the pale of salvation and utterly unworthy 
of the Divine consideration. 



ELECTION AND PREDESTINATION. 

21. What great theological doctrines are taught in this 
Epistle ? 

Election and Predestination ; but how very different do these 
heavenly doctrines appear here in their own Divine setting, 
radiant with love and mercy, from what they do when, as 
cold, lifeless abstractions, we meet with them in theologies and 
creed skeletons, where, wrenched from their connections and 
twisted into harmony with preconceived theories, they sound 
so inharmonious and harsh and look so repellent nnd forbid- 
ding. Here the whole passage is ecstatic and exultant, begin- 
ning and ending with hallelujahs, "Blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," and steeped in joy and 
love from end to end. However the impenitent and unbeliev- 
ing may regard these high mysteries, in the breast of the be- 
liever they should awaken only the profoundest emotions of 
adoring gratitude and joy. 



fiPHESTANS. 487 

22. How may these high doctrines of the eternal decrees of 
God be regarded from a practical point of vieiu? 

They make it plain that Christianity is no after-thought, no 
accident or incident, but, on the contrary, afford tlie most 
blessed and comforting assurance tliat Christianity will be no 
failure or disappointment ; that its success depends on no con- 
tingency, but is made certain by the very love from which it 
drew its origin. 

23. What are the different views as to the objects of this Divine 
election and predestination f 

These are two : one is that it is individuals that are chosen 
to salvation, and the other that it is communities and nations 
that are elected to the enjoyment of religious privileges and 
thus put into a salvable position. The former is the distinc- 
tively Calvinistic view, and the latter the Arminian. 

24. What great mistakes are comm.only 7)%ade in thinking 
about these great doctrines f 

Chiefly two : First, that the objects of the Divine election 
are sinless creatures^ whereas they are sinful 2^erso7is ; and 
second, that they are elected to eternal life without reference 
to their fitness for it, whereas the election is to holiness (i. 4 ; 2 
Thess. ii. 13) ; so that it may be confidently afiirmed that, de- 
cree or no decree, ''without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord" (Heb. xii. 14). Thus salvation is not merely or prima- 
rily a "getting into Heaven," but a getting free from sin. 
Then Heaven comes as a matter of course. 

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 

26. IIoio many things does the Aj^osfle here represent God as 
doing for us in the matter of our salvationf 

Seven : (1) choosing us to salvation (i. 4) ; (2) predestinating 
us to adoption (i. 5) ; (3) accepting us in the Beloved (i. 6) ; (4) 
revealing to us His will (i. 9) ; (5) quickening us with Christ 
— regeneration (ii. 1, 5) ; (6) sanctifying us by His Spirit, and 
(7) glorifying us together with Christ (ii. 6). 

26. What great contrasts does the Aj)ostle draw in this 
Epistle f 

That between the condition of the Gentiles before they 



488 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

became Christians and afterwards (ii. 11-22), and the corre- 
sponding difference in the lives they ought to lead (iv. 17- 
V. 20). 

27. What is the idea of the Church conveyed in this Epistle ? 

That it is composed of believers scattered over the world who 
are a band of brethren, children of the same Father, subjects 
of the same Lord, forming one body by the indwelling of the 
Holy Spirit, uniting all to Christ as their living Head, 
making them all one in faith, in their religious life, and in love 
(iv. 1-16). 

28. ^V7lat is the specific j)oint about the ideal glory of the 
Church which the Ajjostle emphasizes in this Epistle ? 

That this ideal glory contemplated from the first the union 
of both Jews and Gentiles in equal enjoyment of the privileges 
of God's covenant, that to the completeness of the Body of 
Christ the latter are as necessary as the former, and that it is 
only when both are together in Christ that His fulness is 
realized and manifested. 

29. Does this Epistle dwell with special fulness on the work of 
the Spirit ? 

Yes ; as a consequence of its doctrine of the Church, the 
nature of the spiritual life is brought out in this Epistle in a 
wonderful degree. Nowhere in the writings of Paul is such 
fre(]uent reference made to the work of the Spirit in the soul 
and in the Church. Elsewhere he has dwelt at length upon 
the love of God and the grace of Christ ; here he emphasizes 
tlie power of the Spirit as He enlightens, renews souls and 
fills the heart. In fact, the whole Epistle is a magnificent 
comment on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, as the Divine 
Persons are concerned in the work of Redemption. 

30. Wliat specially remarkable passages may be found in this 

Epistle ? 

The prayers of the Apostle for his Ephesian converts (i. 15- 
23 and iii. 14-19) with the accompanying doxology (iii. 20, 21). 
These are among the most marvellous outbursts of the Apos- 
tle's piety, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 



EPHESIANS. 489 

31. What are the key-words of this Epistle f 

Some think "heavenly places," which words occur four 
times in the letter; but others "in," which occurs 100 times 
in this Epistle and, in connection with Christ, is repeated 
some nineteen or twenty times, most of which are to be found 
in the first or doctrinal part of the Epistle. 

32. What are the seven ' ' walks' ' in Ephesians f 

The walk in disobedience (ii. 2) ; the walk in good works (ii. 
10) ; the consistent walk (iv. 1) ; the unworldly walk (iv. 17) ; 
the walk in love (v. 5) ; the becoming walk (v. 8) ; the walk 
circumspect (v. 15). 

33. How may the concluding paragraph (vi. 10-20) be de- 
scribed f 

As the Christian's Spiritual Armory. 

34. What is the greatest battle of the world ? 

That between God and Satan ; which is raging every hour 
around us and in us, and yet we scarcely hear it. It is the con- 
flict of silence ; and the Bible which describes it is the Iliad of 
all literature, the Great Epic in which this contest is graphic- 
ally'^ depicted, and which is brought out so pointedly in this 
Epistle (vi. 10-12). 

35. Is there any other Epistle to the Ephesians in the New 
Testament besides this f 

Yes ; there is the Epistle of John to the Church of Ephesus 
(Rev. ii. 1-7). 

36. What are the three prepositions by which the believer^s 
relations to Christ are herein set forth ? 

In, with, and through. We are chosen and accepted in 
Christ, are united luith Christ, and through Christ we have 
access to the Father. 

37. What is the key-thought of this Epistle ? 
The Christian one wuth Christ. 



490 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

PHILIPPIANS. 

1. Who were the Philippians ? 

Christians resident at Philippi, the chief city of the eastern 
division of Macedonia, situated on the northeastern coast of the 
^gean Sea. The city received its name from Philip, the father 
of Alexander the Great. Before his time its history is un- 
known. 

2. For what is Philippi celebrated f 

It is celebrated in secular history as being the place where 
the fate of the Roman Empire was decided in the battle be- 
tween the forces of Octavianus (afterwards Augustus Caesar) 
and Mark Antony on the one side, and tliose of Brutus and 
Cassius on the other, the latter being defeated and the repub- 
lican party completely subdued. In sacred story, however, 
Philippi is celebrated as being the first place in Europe where 
the Gospel was preached, and this fact invests it with more 
interest and importance than it derives from the battle fought 
there. The history of tliis interesting event, together with an 
account of the shameful treatment the Apostolic band received 
there, is recorded in Acts xvi., and which should, by all means, 
be read afresh in connection with the study of this Epistle. 

3. What was the character of the Church at PJdUxipif 

It would seem from the record to be what may be properly 
called a Model Church. In strong contrast to the Church at 
Corinth, it was one of the purest as well as the most generous 
of the Churches of that age. Inspired by the heroic example 
of their faithful teacher, they remained steadfast under perse- 
cutions, their faith and love being approved thereby. And so 
exemplary was their conduct in all respects, that their spiritual 
father, our great Apostle, had onl}' to rejoice in them as his 
"joy and crown" (iv. 1). 

4. What tvas the nature of the relations between the Apostle 
and this Church f 

Between Paul and the Philippians, as between pastor and 
people, there existed the most cordial and affectionate relation- 



PHILIPPIANS. 491 

ship ; so much so, indeed, that they regarded each other's 
interests as being identical. What aflfected the one affected 
the other. There was such a perfect community of interest 
between tliem tliat tliey were partakers aUke in each other's 
joys and sorrows. From the very first tlie Pliilippians made 
common cause witli Paul in the propagation of the Gospel. 
They seemed to charge themselves, though poor in this world's 
goods, with the maintenance and comfort of the Apostle, and 
so once and again ministered to his necessities (iv. 15, 16; 
2 Cor. xi. 9), and were the only Church apparently so to do. 

5. In what eircumstanees was Paul when he wrote this Epis- 
tle? 

He was a prisoner in Rome awaiting his trial as a Christian, 
the issue of which, under such a man as Nero, and under the 
circumstances then existing, v/as in doubt, with the prospects, 
however, far from favorable for his release. He writes as a 
man anticipating an early death — a glorious martja^dom. 

6. What was the occasion of his luriting this Epistle to the 
Philippians ? 

The arrival at Rome of Epaphroditus, w^io was the bearer of 
a contribution in money and, doubtless, other comforts from 
the Church at Philippi, which, being aware of the Apostle's 
sufferings and necessities, took this direct and effective method 
of ministering to his relief. This Epistle is therefore, on the 
part of the Apostle, of the nature of a letter of thanks — such as 
any of the laborers in our home or foreign fields might be ex- 
pected to write under similar circumstances— on the receipt of 
a "Missionary Box." 

7. WJiat is the character of this Epistle ? 

Precisely such as, from such a man under such circum- 
stances, we might expect. It drew its inspiration not only 
from the occasion itself, but from his relations to the people 
to whom it was addressed. Early memories were awakened, 
and, deeply touched by this new evidence of the noble gener- 
osity and Christian philanthropy of his Philippian friends, his 
emotions were profoundly stirred, and in this letter of thanks 
his heart fairly runs over in expressions of tenderness, grati- 
tude, and joy. A voice from Beulah land, there breathes through 



492 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

the Epistle a peculiar solemnity, tenderness, pathos, and ardo^ 
of affection. He expresses a grateful remembrance of all their 
kindness ; he evinces a tender regard for their welfare ; and he 
pours forth the full-floM'ing language of gratitude, and utters a 
father's feelings towards them by tender and kind admoni- 
tions. It breathes the language of a father rather than of an 
Apostle ; the entreaties of a tender friend rather than the 
commands of one in authority. It expresses the affections of 
a man who felt that he might be near death, and who tenderly 
loved them ; and it will be to all ages a model of affectionate 
counsel and advice. 

8. ^V/lat is the tone of this Epistle ? 

That of joy and exultation. It is pervaded, like the rest of 
the New Testament, with the spirit of exhilaration. Notwith- 
standing the trying circumstances in which it was written, 
there is in it no strain of mehxncholy or morbid feeling. It is 
pathetic, but not gloomy ; full of sorrows, but full of victory 
over sorrows. Its key-note, indeed, is Joy. Some twenty iixiiQ^ 
in tlie Epistle does the Apostle use the words "joy," " rejoice," 
" peace," " content," etc. The Cross is forgotten in the Crown 
which is anticipated even in his earthly experience. 

9. Hoio may this Epistle he briefly characterized ? 

One describes it as being " A Luminous Exposition of Chris- 
tianity as a Personal Experience ;" another as " The Disciple's 
Balance-sheet;" we venture to call it The Triumph of Faith. 
While neither one of tliese summaries is perhaps comprehen- 
sive enougli to cover the scope of the Epistle, yet each one 
certainly expresses a conspicuous feature of it. Each is there- 
fore correct, for it is all of them together. 

10. What are the most conspicuous traits in PauVs character 
as herein exemplified ? 

His complete self-renunciation and entire submission to his 
Lord and Master. The love of Christ is the ruling passion of 
his soul (i. 12-20 ; iii. 7-10). 

11. Wliat is the grandest utterance in this Epistle f 

That in which the Apostle lets us into the secret of his won- 
drous existence—** For me to live is Christ" (i. 21). 



PHILIPPIANS. 493 

12. What is the most comprehensive exhortation in this Epistle ? 

" Only let your conversation (that is, your deportment as 
citizens) be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ" (i. 27). ^11 
other injunctions are embraced in this one. 

13. How does the Apostle undertake to exorcise or cast out of 
the soul the demon of selfishness ? 

By bringing to bear on us the example of Christ, Whom he 
follows from the heights of glory round by round down the 
ladder of humiliation till he reaches its bottom in His igno- 
minious death on the cross ; and then by virtue of this volun- 
tary self-emptying on the part of Christ, he follows the 
Saviour up again into the realms of bliss and places Him upon 
a pinnacle of dazzling moral pre-eminence such as only His 
God-like self-denial could win. And it is thus the Apostle 
would have us all stoop to conquer and be humble that we may 
be exalted in due time (ii. 5-11). 

14. What two persons are immortalized by the Ajoostle in this 
Letter ? 

Timothy and Epaphroditus, the latter of whom is nowhere 
mentioned in the Scriptures outside of this Epistle, but whose 
one act of generous self-sacrifice, which, like that of Mary 
(Mark xiv. 3-11), will be spoken of throughout the whole world 
wherever the Gospel is preached, has given him a place among 
the Bible worthies. Immortalized by a single act ! Paul's 
testimony to Timothy, whose name is almost as familiar as 
the Apostle's own, is such as to give to us the most favorable 
opinion of that young minister (xiv. 19-30). 

15. What marks of a true Christian does the Apostle give us 
in this Epistle ? 

These are three: (1) He worships God in the spirit, (2) 
rejoices in Christ Jesus, and (3) has no confidence in the 
flesh — that is, in rites or ceremonies, the mere externalism of 
religion, the scaffolding of Christian character (iii. 3). 

16. What great folly does the experience of Paul (ii. 12-14) 
rebuke ? 

The folly of any soul presuming that it has reached the 
heights of holiness— the grand summit of moral perfection. 



494 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

17. What very sad thing does the Apostle mention in this 

Epistle f 

The dreadful inconsistencies of nominal Cliurcli members— 
professing Cliristians (iii. 17-19). 

18. What glorious doctrines does the Ajoostle announce in this 
Epistle ? 

Tlie Second Coming of Christ and the Resurrection and glo- 
rious transformation of our present bodies (iii. 20, 21). 

19. What are the contents of the last chapter f 

It is made up of practical exhortations (1-3), Apostolic com- 
mands (4-9), grateful acknowledgments (10-19), a doxology (20), 
and salutations (21-23). 

20. IIoiu does the Apostle in this Epistle rebuke those who 
ivould limit the scope of the Gospel to a few cardinal doctrines 
and elementally facts ? 

He throws, as it were, a golden net over all truth, all right 
conduct, and all possible developments of them ; and these are 
the Gospel which is the truth in Heaven, on earth, and every- 
where else (iv. 8). 

21. In what famous school ivas the Apostle a scholar ? 
The School of Contentment (iv. 11-13). 

22. In what light is the beneficence of the PhiliiJj)ians here 
represented ? 

As partaking of the nature of a sacrifice. Such are the offer- 
ings of the Christian priesthood (iv. 14-18). 

23. What glorious jyromise does the Apostle make to the benefi- 
cent {especially the 2)oor among them luho give liberally like the 
Philippians) on behalf of God ? 

"My God (the God of the Apostle) shall supply all your 
need according to His riches in glory" (iv. 19). 

24. What is the special value of this Epistle to the Philip- 
pians ? 

It tells ns how to live and how to die, how to renounce and 
how to attain, how to endure and how to rejoice. 



COLOSSIANS. 495 



COLOSSIANS. 

1. Who were the Colossians ? 

The residents of Colosse, a then large, prosperous, and 
wealthy city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, not far from Laodicea 
and Ephesus. 

2. B^ whom was the Gospel first preached and the Church 
planted at Colosse ? 

This is not certainly known. Some think it was Paul him- 
self, but the weight of evidence is against this presumption. 
Either Timothy or Epaphras, or both together, it is most prob- 
able, were the human agents in planting and nourishing the 
Church and bringing it to its then flourishing condition. 

3. How, then, came Paul to address this letter to that Church f 

As the Great Missionary Bishop of the whole Gentile Worlds 
Paul might be said to be the founder of all the Churches — if not 
immediately, yet mediately, if not directly, yet indirectly 
through his disciples and agents — so that it was most natural 
to refer to him for his counsel and decision all questions of 
doctrine and difficulties in administration that might arise in 
any of the infant Christian communities, whether he had 
himself planted them or not, as well as to keep him informed 
as to their state. And this letter to the Colossians grew out of 
some such reference and report made to him at Rome, through 
Epaphras, their minister and Paul's fellow-laborer (i. 7). 

4. What is the tenor of this letter to the Colossians ? 

Cheerful in tone, congratulating them on their state, express- 
ing his joy at the accounts he had received of their constancy 
in the faith and fervency of their love, the Apostle takes occa- 
sion, with his never-failing faithfulness, to warn them against 
evils about which, perhaps, it was a part of the mission of 
Epaphras to consult him. 

5. What was the nature of the evils existing in the Colossian 
Church at that time ? 

They were mainly of a doctrinal character. False teachers 
had crept in and disseminated erroneous and superstitious 



496 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

notions respecting the vvorsliip of angels, self-mortification, 
and the observance of the Jewish Festivals, and, indeed, of the 
Mosaic ritual in general, as necessary to salvation. These 
notions, semi-Judaistic and semi-philosophical or Oriental, 
tended not only to mar the simplicity of the people's faith, but 
to obscure the glory of Christ— a source of keenest sorrow to 
the loving Apostle. 

6. What' was the object of the Apostle in this letter, and how 
did he carry it out f 

To neutralize the poison injected into the minds of the Colos- 
sians by these false teachers and to confirm them in the faith 
of the Gospel of Christ. This he did mainly by a positive 
presentation of the truth as it is in Jesus, setting before them 
their real standing in Christ, the majesty and matchless 
glory of His Person and the completeness of His redemption, 
and exhorting them to conformity with their risen Lord, fol- 
lowing this out into all subordinate duties and occasions of 
common life. 

7. Hoiu does this Epistle compare with that to the Ejyhesians f 

The two are very similar in style, structure, diction, and 
subject-matter. They may, indeed, with propriety be called 
Twin Epistles. They were written about the same time, in 
the same circumstances, and for almost the same purpose. 
And so strong is the resemblance that, out of the 155 verses 
contained in the Epistle to the Ephesians, 78 contain expres- 
sions identical with those in this to the Colossians. The two 
consequently reflect great light upon each other, especially the 
latter upon the former, of which it is, indeed, often the best 
comment. 

8. What is the highest characteristic which these two Epistles 
have in common ? 

That of a presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ fuller and 
clearer than in any other of the Apostle's letters, as the Head 
of Creation and of Mankind. All things created through 
Christ, all things coherent in Him, all things reconciled to 
the Father by Him, the eternal purpose to restore and com- 
plete all things in Him — such are the ideas which grew richer 
and more distinct in the mind of the Apostle as he meditated 



COLOSSIANS. 497 

ou the Gospel which he had been preaching, and the truths 
implied in it. 

9. What is the specific difference betiueen these two Epistles, 
in other respects so much alike ? 

In the Colossians the Divine Headsliip of Christ and His 
mediatorial glories as Redeemer are dwelt upon and main- 
tained as the safeguard against the fancies which filled the 
heavens with secondary divinities, and which laid down rules 
for an artificial sanctity of men upon the earth. In the Ephe- 
sians it is the doctrine of the Church, the eternity and uni- 
versality of GoD*s redeeming purpose in Christ, that are 
brought into prominence and urged upon the Ephesians as a 
motive for the preservation of the Unity of the Spirit in the 
bond of peace, and the discharge of all relative moral duties. 
The Epistle to the Colossians is distinctively Christological 
and Polemical. 

10. Hoiu may the difference between these Twin Epistles be 
briefly stated f 

The same theme is common to both — the Saints in Christ 
Jesus : In Ephesians they are seen to be One in Him ; while 
in Colossians they are Complete in Him. 

11. What word does the Apostle introduce in this Epistle taken 
from the philosophical discussions of the time f 

Pleroma — translated Fulness (i. 19 ; ii. 9). There was a con- 
troversy about the Pleroma or Fulness of Being and Source of 
all other Life, just as there was later about the Logos as the 
connecting link between God and the world ; and as John 
later on seized upon it for the purpose of making known the 
true Logos, so Paul here takes advantage of the philosopher's 
own word to present to them Christ Jesus as the real Pleroma. 
All Fulness dwells in Him. 

12. What is the practical use of truth common to both these 

Epistles ? 

In both the application of the truth concerning Christ as 
the Image of God and the Head of Men, to the common duties 
of human life — and particularly of husband and wife, parents 
and children, masters and servants — is dwelt upon in such 
detail as to form a perfect code of Christian social morals, 

32 



498 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

13. What matters are peculiar to these two Epistles f 

Besides the teaching of Christ as the Head of the Church, 
the imagery as to the articulation and nourishment of the body 
(Eph. i. 7 ; Col. i. 14), the precept respecting spiritual songs 
(Eph. V. 10 ; Col. iii. 16), and the warning against lying (Eph. 
iv. 25 ; Col. iii. 9), there are many Greek words not found 
elsewhere in Paul's writings. 

14. Are the parallel passages in the two Epistles simple repe- 
titions of the same thought ? 

No ; whatever the resemblance may be, they have in each 
Epistle a distinct purpose of their own : in that to the Colos- 
sians to set forth the glory of Him in Whom the whole Church 
lives ; in that to the Ephesians to show that this glory cannot 
be fulfilled except by the bringing of all into unity in His one 
Church, so that there cannot be two separate communities, but 
only one Body in Christ. In short, the Epistle to the Colos- 
sians is occupied with Christ Himself— He is the true solution 
of all their perplexities ; while the Epistle to the Ephesians is 
occupied with the Church as the Body of Christ. The Colos- 
sians is polemic or controversial ; the Ephesians mystic and 
devotional. 

15. What relation, then, do these two Epistles sustain the one 
to the other ? 

They are in the strictest sense complementary to one another ; 
which accounts for the Apostle's direction that the two should 
be read together (Col. iv. 16). A similar relation, it may be 
added, exists between the Third Gospel and the Acts, and 
between the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse. 

16. How do these Twin Epistles compare in length? 

Ephesians is nearly as long again as Colossians ; just as 
Romans is nearly three times longer than Galatians — the 
longer letters being in each instance the fuller and more com- 
plete elaboration of the same theme. 

17. What are the most remarkable passages in the Colossian 
Epistle f 

That in which the Apostle in that long sentence (i. 9-20) so 
grandly causes the figure of our glorified Redeemer in all its 



COLOSSIANS. 499 

love and majesty to rise upon the mind's eye ; and tiiat in tlie 
second cliapter, in which he sets forth the Christian's complete- 
ness in Christ, and where he declares the Christian's eman- 
cipation from, and independence of, all ritual observance and 
legal rites, as a condition of salvation. 

18. How does the Apostle develop his theme 9 

In tlie first chapter he sliows, first, what God the Father 
had done for the Gentiles (12-14), and then sets forth the Deity 
of Christ as the Image of God (15-19), following this with an 
exhibit of what He had done in tiie work of redemption (20- 
22). In the second chapter the Apostle sets fortli the Dignity 
of Christ as Head of the Body, and His Identity with the 
Church, and the consequent dignity of the Church, and Identity 
with Him and in Him with the Father. The last two chap- 
ters are taken up with practical exhortations quite similar to 
those in the Ephesians, and the customary salutations. 

19. What seven relations are Christians represented in ii. as 
sustaining to Christ ? 

Christians have received Christ and should so walk in 
Christ (6) ; are rooted and built up in Christ (7) ; are complete 
in Christ (10) ; are buried with Christ and are risen with 
Christ (12). 

20. What estimate have Christian scholars placed upon this 
Epistle to the Colossians f 

It is regarded by all as a very weighty letter ; while some do 
not hesitate to characterize it as a Complete Compendium of 
Christian Theology. 

21. Have the authenticity and genuineness of these Twin Epis- 
tles been called in question ? 

Yes ; modern rationalistic criticism has undertaken to prove 
that both letters are the product of the 2d century, and, there- 
fore, not of Pauline origin. The efforts of the critics in this 
field, as elsewhere, are, however, unsuccessful. Christian schol- 
arship has routed them foot, horse, and dragoon. 

22. What is the gist of the Colossian letter in a word f 
" Christ is all, and in all"— iii. 11. 



500 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THESSALONIANS. 

FIRST EPISTLE. 

1. Who were the Thessalonians 9 

The residents of Thessalonicor, a chief city in Macedonia in 
Europe, to the north of Greece. Tliessalonica still is, as it 
ever has been, a flourishing commercial town — even now next 
to Constantinople, the second city in European Turkey — bear- 
ing the slightly varied name of Saloniki, while the old cities 
of Ephesus and Colosse are now represented by mere heaps of 
ruins. Its population was a mixture of Greeks, Romans, and 
Jews. Its geographical position and maritime importance 
fitted it, like Corinth, to become one of the starting-points of 
the Gospel in Europe, and explain the fact that from this city 
the word of the Lord Jesus had sounded forth " in every 
place" (i. 8). 

2. Bt/ whom was the Oosiocl first preached in the city of 
Thessalonica f 

By that Apostolic band — Paul, Silas, and Timothy — shortly 
after their release from imprisonment in Philippi, a.d. 52. An 
account of this historic event may be found in Acts xvii. 1-10. 

3. Of what elenw7its was the Church at Thessalonica com- 
posed f 

Of some Jews, doubtless, and Jewish proselytes— many of 
whom were women of rank and influence (Acts xvii. 4), but 
the larger number of its members were converts from idolatry 
(i. 9). No reference is made in either letter to the Old Testa- 
ment Scriptures. 

4. How long did the Evangelist remain in Thessalonica f 

For a very brief time (Acts xvii. 2), being driven thence by 
the violence of the Jews (Acts xvii. 10) ; but the brethren there 
always retained a warm place in the Apostle's heart. 

5. WJiat is rem,arkable about these letters to the Thessa- 
lonians f 

They are not only the earliest of the extant writings of the 



THESSALONIANS. 50 1 

great Apostle to the Gentiles, but they are the earliest written, 
and therefore the oldest, of any of the Books of the New 
Testament. 

6. What was the occasion of the First Epistle to the Thessa- 
lonians 9 

Forced to leave the newly-planted church in such difficulties 
as excited his anxiety respecting them, the Apostle sent 
Timothy from Athens to "establish them and comfort them 
concerning the faith" (iii. 2) ; while he passed on to Corinth 
where he spent a year and a half, during which time Timotliy 
returned with a good account of tlie Thessalonian Church 
(iii. 6 ; Acts xviii. 5). This greatly cheered and encouraged 
the AjDostle, who, unable to carry out his desire to visit them 
just then (ii. 17, 18), addressed to them this letter instead. 

7. What is the character of the First Letter to the Thessa- 
lonia7%s ? 

Unlike most of the previous Epistles, this was not a letter 
of argument, controversy, or rej)roof, but of confirmation and 
encouragement. Its style is more simple and perspicuous than 
any other of his letters, and reveals as vividly as any of the 
Apostle's later Epistles his noble, unselfish, generous, and 
afTectionate nature. 

8. What was the object of this Epistle f 

It was written because the Apostle wanted to fill up by ex- 
hortation and consolation the necessary defects of a teaching 
which had been indeed most earnest and plain as far as it had 
gone, but had been broken off before it was complete. Hence 
the cautions and warnings we find intermixed with his com- 
mendations and exhortations. 

9. Are the contents of this Fii^st Epistle susceptible of analy- 
sis? 

Not such as to yield any very satisfactory results. The 
whole, however, inay be divided into three parts : (1) The con- 
gratulatory and historical (i.-iii.) ; (2) the didactic and horta- 
tory (iv.-v. 11) ; and (3) concluding counsels and the benedic- 
tion (v. 12-28). 



502 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



SECOND EPISTLE. 

10. What is the nature of the Second Epistle to the Thessa- 
lonians f 

Closely following the First Epistle, it is a sequel to it. It 
issues from the same persons, Paul, Silas, and Timothj^ ; and 
the joint origin is expressed throughout the Epistle more than 
in any other of the Apostolic letters. 

11. What appears to have caused the Apostle to ivrite this 
Second Epistle so soon after the first ? 

The immediate cause seems to have been the fact of the 
people's entertaining erroneous views with regard to our 
Lord's Second Coming, which were leading to fanatical and 
disorderly practices, hurtful to the cause of truth and right- 
eousness (ii. 1-3 ; iii. 6-15). From a misconstruction of some 
expressions in the First Epistle (ii. 17 ; v. 1-3) the idea got 
abroad that the Day of the Lord was then nigh at hand ; which 
delusion led many to indulge in something like the Miller- 
ite follies of recent times. Tliis, in this Second Epistle, the 
Apostle endeavors to correct (ii.), and to arrest the evils con- 
sequent upon it. 

12. What is the nature of the contents of this Second Epistle f 

The commencement and conclusion— the first and last 
chapters— are occupied with affectionate commendations, 
mingled with encouragements to perseverance, exhortations 
to holiness, and directions for the maintenance of discipline 
with regard to idle and disorderly members. In ii. the Apostle 
exposes the error of anticipating the near approach of the Day 
of the Lord, emphasizing the fact that it was the Unexpected- 
ness of the event rather than its Nearness that he desired to 
impress upon them. 

13. What is that ^^ apostasy''^ or ^^ falling away^^^ and who is 
that ** man of sin,^^ which the Apostle declares must take2olaee 
and api)ear before the End comes f 

This passage (ii. 1-12) is perhaps more difficult of interpreta- 
tion than any other in the Apostolic letters, epitomizing, as it 
does, in a few sentences, the working of evil in the church 



THESSALONIANS. 503 

through many centuries till the Second Advent. There have 
been many apostasies or fallings away since the Ascension of 
our Lord. In fact each age has its own Apostasy, its Anti- 
christ. Both Mohammed and the Pope have been regarded 
as that "Man of Sin" and Antichrist ; but bad as the systems 
of Mohammedanism and the Papacy are, they do not appear 
to adequately meet the requirements of this oracle ; and there- 
fore it is to be feared that a more terrible impersonation of 
arrogant impiety than any yet manifested remains to be re- 
vealed (Dan. viii. 25 ; xi. 36, 37). 

THE TWO EPISTLES. 

14. For what are these two letters especially distinguished 'J 

The Eschatological Element — those passages which bear 
upon the last things — the Second Coming, the Resurrection, 
and the final Destiny of men. 

15. How is ChrisVs Second Advent represented in the two 
Epistles f 

In the First, He comes with the Trump of God to raise the 
Dead in Christ and catch up the living Saints (iv.) ; while in 
the Second, He comes with His mighty angels, taking ven- 
geance on His foes (i.). 

16. What are the main features of the First Epistle ? 

The Thessalonians are painted as a Model Christian Com- 
munity — a Model Church— and the simplicity and grandeur 
of the Apostolic spirit and life are vividly portrayed in i.-iii. ; 
in iv. the Thessalonians are exhorted to cultivate Chastity (1-8), 
Brotherly Love (9, 10), Quiet Industry (11, 12) ; while Modera- 
tion of their Sorrow is counselled on the part of the bereaved in 
view of the Resurrection (13-18) ; and Watchfulness in view of 
the Suddenness and Uncertainty of the Second Coming in v. 

17. What is the distinguishing feature of the second Epistle f 

The Certain and Awful Doom of the Unbelieving and Dis- 
obedient, and the description of that Man of Sin, and his final 
and complete overthrow, being destroyed with the brightness 
of the Coming of the Glorified Sou of Man. Paul is prophet 
here as well as Apostle. 



504 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

18. What is the difference between these earliest and the later 
Epistles of Paul ? 

The earliest of the Epistles are ever moral and practical, the 
later or advanced ones, as the Romans, Galatians, Epliesians, 
and Colossians, more doctrinal and spiritual. Tlie Epistles 
took shape and tone from the developments of the time. 
They were the tracts for the times. 

19. How may these Thessalonian letters be characterized ? 

As the Epistles of the Second Advent. The two contain 
twenty distinct references to that Great Event, which is used 
as a comfort in bereavement, a motive to patience, an inspira- 
tion to hope, a security in temptation, a help to purity, a 
ground of rejoicing, a separating, sanctifying power. 



Paul's pastorals. 505 



PAUL'S PASTORALS. 

FIRST TIMOTHY. 

1. What is the difference between the destination of the pre- 
vious nine Epistles of Paul and the present group of three ? 

The former nine Epistles were addressed to seven Churches 
or bodies of Cliristians, the latter to two individuals — two to 
Timothy and one to Titus. 

2. Why are these letters to Timothy and Titus called Pastoral 
Epistles f 

Because they are addressed to persons engaged in pastoral 
work, and abound in instruction relative to the oversight of 
the Church and other duties of the Christian ministry ; wliile, 
like the Corinthian letters, they also abound in instruction 
suited to the churches themselves. 

3. Who was Timothy 9 

He was convert, disciple (Acts xvi. 1-3), Evangelist (Acts 
xvii. 14), pastor. Missionary Superintendent (1 Tim. i. 3 ; iv. 
11, 12 ; 2 Tim. ii. 2), and intimate friend and companion, of 
the great Apostle Paul himself (2 Tim. i. 4 ; iv. 9, 21). He was 
well brought up, and so had early laid a good foundation for 
his subsequent work (2 Tim. i. 5 ; iii. 15). He was greatly be- 
loved and much confided in by the great Apostle ; and he 
must ever be honored in the Church of God, who for full six- 
teen years possessed the love, deserved the confidence, shared 
the labors, and alleviated the sorrows of that glorious man. 

4. When were these Epistles to Timothy written f 

Towards the close of the life of their great author— 65-67, 
A.D. They were both addressed to Timothy while tliat delicate 
young man (1 Tim. v. 23) was representing the Apostle's 
authority and acting as Missionary Superintendent in and 
around Ephesus. 

5. What peculiar interest attaches to these letters to Timothy ? 

As the Epistles to the Thessalonians are remarkable as the 
earliest of the Apostle's writings, so these Epistles to Timothy 



506 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

are invested with peculiar interest as being his last— the second 
letter being written in evident expectation of his early martyr- 
dom, which took place under Nero at Rome 67-68, a.d, after 
thirty years of unexampled fidelity and self-denial in the 
service of Christ and Humanity. 

6. What was the object of the Mist Epistle to Timothy f 

To counteract the false doctrines of Jewish teachers, who 
whilst professing adherence to the Law, taught doctrines at 
variance with its holy requirements (i. 4, 7-10 ; vi. 3-5, 20, 21), 
and to guide and encourage Timothy in the discharge of the 
manifold, difficult and delicate duties of his office (i. 3, 4 ; iii. 
15 ; vi. 20, 21). 

7. What specially notable passages are there in this First 
Epistle to Timothy ? 

The leaf from the Apostle's autobiography (i. 12-16) ; the 
universality of God's purpose in the Gospel (ii. 3-6) ; the 
mystery of Godliness (iii. 16) ; the lesson on contentment and 
the warning against "getting rich quick" (vi. 6-10), and the 
charge to the rich (vi. 17-19). 

SECOND TIMOTHY. 

8. What is the gist of PauVs second letter to Timothy f 

Its contents are the dying counsel of " such a one as Paul 
the aged"— the venerable Apostolic father— to his own son 
and representative in the Lord Jesus. It contains also a 
variety of injunctions as to the duties of Christians under 
trials and temptations, and concludes with expressions of a 
full and triumphant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in 
all tlie glorious promises to His true followers. 

9. What is the tone of this last letter to Timothy and the last 
of the extant utterances of the great Apostle ? 

Confident, cheerful — even joyous. It is not a threnody of 
disappointment, a lamentation or a wail of sorrow and regret, 
but a psean, a battle shout, the victor's cry. In it the aged 
Apostle manifests a strong conviction of the truth of the prin- 
ciples he had embraced, a happy superiority to all his past or 
future sufferings in support of them, and a triumphant assur- 
sance of his great Master's approbation and reward. 



Paul's pastorals. 507 

10. Is there anything of a prophetic character in this last of 
PauVs letters f 

Yes ; in ii. he announces the coming corruption of Chris- 
tianity, even as in Second Thessalonians he foretold the rise 
and progress of that " Man of Sin." 

11. What are the specially notable passages of Second 
Timothy ? 

The Apostle's exhortation to the young bishop (i. 8-12) ; the 
faithful saying of ii. 11-13 ; that touching the inspiration of 
the Scriptures (iii. 16, 17) ; the Apostle's death-psean of match- 
less sublimity (iv. 6-8). 

THE TWO EPISTLES. 

12. Upon what important matter does the Apostle in these 
pastorals lay great stress f 

The moral guilt of heresy and the need of sound doctrine, 
which is uniformly associated with spiritual health and 
vigorous activity (1 Tim. i. 10 ; vi. 3 ; 2 Tim. i. 13 ; iv. 3 ; Titus 
1. 9, 13; ii. 1,2, 8). 

13. How did the Apostle encourage Tim,othy in vieiu of the 
coming Apostasy and false teachers ? 

By these four grand motives to steadfastness : (1) the verity 
and certainty of sound doctrine ; (2) the mutual Testimony of 
Christ and the Scriptures ; (3) the Approval of the Master ; 
(4) the coming Epiphany of Christ and the Day of Award. 

14. How may these two Epistles to Timothy be briefly charac- 
terized f 

The first as the Pastor's Looking-glass, and the Second the 
Swan-Song — the Dying Paean — of the great Apostle of the 
Gentiles. 

TITUS. 

15. Who was Titus 9 

Nothing more is certainly known of him than we find in 
the Epistles of Paul. His name is not mentioned in the 
history in the Acts. From what may be gleaned, however, 
from the Epistles we may conclude that in all the distinctive 



508 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



features of his Christian hfe, Titus was a twin-brother of 
Timothy, sustaining in all respects about the same relations to 
Paul as did he (Gal. i. 4 ; ii. 1, 3 ; 2 Cor. ii. 1, 2, 13 ; vii. 5, 7 ; 
viii. 16-24; xii. 17-21). 

16. In what respect did Titus differ from Timothy? 

Titus was by birth a full-blooded Gentile, while Timothy's 
father was a Greek (Acts xvi. 3), and his mother a Jewess— a 
woman of distinguished piety, as was her mother before her 
(2 Tim. i. 5 ; iii. 15). 

17. What different course did Paid pursue in relation to 
these two upon their co7iversion to Christianity ? 

To avoid the cavils of the Jews he had Timothy circumcised 
(Acts xvi. 3 ; 1 Cor. ix. 20), while he stoutly declined to allow 
the same office to be performed in the case of Titus (Gal. ii. 5). 
In his case, Paul reasoned, circumcision would have meant 
the perpetuity of the authority of the Mosaic law, and, there- 
fore, a compromise of Christian principle to which he could 
not for a moment submit. 

18. Where and in what position ivas Titus ivhen Paul ad- 
dressed this letter to him f 

He was in Crete— now Candia— a "hundred-citied" island 
in the Mediterranean Sea, midway between Syria and Italy. 
The position of Titus in Crete was the same as Timothy in 
Ephesus— as representative of the Apostle he was to preside 
over the churches, and, as missionary sui)erintendent in the 
island, direct all things in relation to their organization and 
management (i. 5). 

19. What was the character of the islanders— the Cretans? 

Very bad. The inhabitants were insincere, unsteady, quar- 
relsome—notoriously given to licentiousness and intemper- 
ance ; and some of the Jews who had settled among them had 
become worse than the natives themselves (i. 10-14). 

20. Hoiv does this Epistle to Titus compare ivith the First 
Epistle to Timothy ? 

They are, as might be expected, from the like situation of 
the persons addressed, very similar. Like the Ephesian and 



Paul's pastorals. 509 

Colossian letters, these two pastorals were written about the 
same time, and cover almost the same ground. The Epistle to 
Titus is briefer than that to Timotliy, and is remarkable as 
compressing into a very short compass a large amount of in- 
struction, embracing doctrine, morals, and discipline. As 
Timothy and Titus are themselves Cliristian twins — the spirit- 
ual children of Paul, so these two Epistles may also be called 
The Twm Pastorals. The letter to Titus, however, was written 
between the two Epistles to Timothy. 

21. What remarkable passages are found in Titus ? 

Those which embody two rich and comprehensive outlines 
of salvation by Grace (ii. 11-14; iii. 4-8). The former of these 
passages is one of the " loca classica"— notably fine parts of 
Scripture. It covers past redemption, present duty, future 
glory. It is a table of contents of the entire New Testament : 
the Epiphany of Grace well describes the Gospels and Acts ; 
the instructions in holy living, the Epistles ; and the expecta- 
tions of the coming of the Lord, the Ax)ocalypse. 

22. For luhat are these three pastoral Epistles remarkable f 

In them we have the clearest revelation given in Scripture 
of the Character, Qualifications, and Duties of the Christian 
Minister — sometimes in a single passage, as well as here and 
there throughout. 

23. What are the four ^''faithful sayings''^ in the three pastoral 
Epistles f 

(1) That " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" 
(1 Tim. i. 15) ; (2) that "godliness is profitable unto all things ; 
having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which 
is to come" (1 Tim. iv. 8) ; (3) that " if we be dead with Christ, 
we shall also live with Him ; if we suffer, we shall also reign 
with Him ; if w^e deny Him, He will also deny us ; if we be- 
lieve not, yet He abideth faithful ; He cannot deny Himself" 
(2 Tim. ii. 11-13) ; (4) that "being justified by His grace, we 
should be made heirs according to the hox^e of eternal life" 
(Titus iii. 7, 8). 



510 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



PHILEMON. 

1. Who was Philemon ? 

A man of wealth and position in Colosse who had been con- 
verted to the Christian faith under Paul's ministry at Ephesus, 
and of whom nothing more is known than may be. gathered 
from this letter. From this letter, however, we should in- 
fer that he was a large-hearted, generous, and sympathetic 
character. 

2. What is the 7iature of this letter of Paul to Philemon? 

Differing from all others which have come down to us as 
parts of the Canon of Scripture, this is an exceptional Epistle 
both as to matter and manner. It gives us a glimpse of the 
private friendships of an Apostle, and of the social intercourse 
he held with his fellow-Christians. It is a private letter from 
one Christian gentleman to another. 

3. What is the subject of this Ejnstle to Philemon ? 

It is simply a letter of intercession in which Paul seeks to 
reconcile an injured Master to a runaway— an absconding 
slave— who had become converted under his ministry at 
Rome, and whom he now sends back to his master as a free- 
man of Christ, and a ''brother beloved." The Apostle in- 
timates that the heretofore untrustworthy and unprofitable 
slave will now prove to be a useful and profitable (playing on 
the nameOnesimus, meaning profitable) servant, and proposes 
himself to indemnify his friend for whatever loss he may have 
sustained by the unfaithfulness and dishonesty of the now 
penitent Onesimus. The Apostle begs Philemon to receive 
him as he would himself, reckoning whatever kindness he 
would show to Onesimus as a personal favor to himself. 

4. How is this letter- commonly regarded ? 

As a model of tact and delicacy, and elegant literary writing 
—a charming and masterly example of Christian love— in"^ 
valuable as offering an example of humility, courteousness, 
and freedom, in the intercourse of Christian friendship— the 
lesson being that we should all "go and do likewise." Com- 



PHILEMON, 511 

bining beauty with brevity, Philemon is the Idyl of the New 
Testament. 

5. What is the principle upon ivhieh this letter from Paul to 
Philemon proceeds 9 

Christian reciprocity — a loving response to love's appeal. 

6. IToiv may this letter be divided 9 

Into four parts : (1) Tlie Salutation and prelude (1-7) ; (2) 
The Request and its basis (8-17) ; (3) The Settlement and Sig- 
nature (18, 19) ; and (4) the Epilogue (20, 25). 

7. How may this Epistle be briefly characterized ? 
As the Looking-Glass for the Christian gentleman. 



512 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



HEBREWS. 

1. In what respects does the Hebrews differ from the previous 
thirteen Epistles ? 

It is anonymous, the author's name being nowhere found in 
it ; the persons to whom it was addressed are not specified as 
in the foregoing letters ; its literary style is much superior to 
the confessedly Pauline productions— being written in much 
better Greek than they ; and its form is for the most part more 
of a treatise or a discourse than a letter. 

2. How do these facts affect the commonly received ojnnion 
with regard to this Book ? 

The Pauline authorship of the work is disputed ; its episto- 
lary form is doubted ; while there is no agreement among 
scholars as to the original destination of the composition. Its 
inspiration, however, is admitted by all. 

3. What is the state of these questions at the present time ? 

The weight of argument and evidence is in favor of the Paul- 
ine origin, its epistolary form, and a specific destination — not 
being addressed to Hebrews in general, but to the Church in 
Jerusalem in j^articular, though with a natural and powerful 
application to all Christians, Greek or Hebrew, who should be 
made acquainted with it. 

4. To what other persons besides Paul has the authorship of 
Hebrews been attributed f 

To Barnabas, Silas, Clement of Rome, Zenas the lawyer, Apol- 
los, and Luke. One thing is certain, however, that whoever 
was the penman, in thought, design, and argument the Epistle 
is Pauline. If, therefore, Paul himself was not the writer, it 
was one of his disciples ; so that it may be set down as certain 
that, to all intents and purposes, the letter is Pauline. 

5. What estimate is commonly put on Hebrews ? 

It is conceded by all intelligent Christians to be of the high- 
est possible value, many of them esteeming it as the most im- 
portant of the didactic parts of the New Testament. Not all 



HEBREWS. 513 

extol it for exactly the same reasons, but all unite in a common 
testimony to its supreme excellency, and its necessity to the 
completeness of the panoply of the Christian, and especially of 
the Christian minister. In doctrinal value and importance 
the Epistle to the Hebrews takes rank with that of the Epistle 
to the Romans. 

6. W7ierein consists the superior excellence of Hebrews ? 

In that it is the key to the Old Testament, unlocking all its 
hidden mysteries. The two Testaments, like the cherubim 
over the ark, look towards each other. The New Testament 
lies hid in the Old ; the Old is plain in the New. The Law is 
but the Gospel predicted, and the Gospel but the Law fulfilled ; 
aud the peculiar excellence of the Hebrews is that it makes 
this plain. 

7. What is the great theme of the Epistle to the Hebrews ? 

The Priesthood of Christ : Its superlative beauty, glory, and 
excellence. This, with the truths and duties rightly connected 
with the knowledge and acceptance of the doctrine of that 
priesthood, is the sum and substance of this Epistle (viii. 1). 

8. Why should the Apostle attach so much imjDOi'tance to this 
one thetne as to write a luhole volume on the subject 9 

Because the priesthood and sacrifices constitute the very 
heart and core of both Dispensations. 

9. How does the sacred writer develop his theme? 

By demonstrating by a series of arguments and illustrations 
which the Hebrews, to whom he wrote, could well appreciate, 
the infinite superiority and exaltation of Christ, as our High 
Priest, above all who represented God in the previous age — 
above all prophets (i. 1); above all angels (i. 2-ii. 18); above 
Moses (iii.) ; above Joshua (iv. 1-11) ; above Aaron (iv. 14-v. 1- 
10 ; vii. 1-28) — as well as the superiority of the New Covenant 
established by Him over the Old (viii.-x. 1-18). 

10. What practical object did the Ax>ostle seek to accomplish 
by thus extolling the Priesthood of Christ? 

He hoped to guard the Hebrew Christians in the midst of 
their suflTering, against apostasy from the faith and a relapse 

33 



514 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

into Jewish ceremouialism, and to reconcile them to the de- 
struction of their Temple, the loss of their priesthood, the abo- 
lition of their sacrifices, the devastation of their country, and 
the extinction of their name, by exhibiting to them in Christi- 
anity a nobler Temple, a better priesthood, a more perfect sac- 
rifice, a heavenly inheritance, and a more durable memorial. 

11. How may the contents of the Epistle he divided? 

Into two great parts : (1) the doctrinal (i.-x. 18) ; and (2) the 
practical (x. 19 to the end). 

12. Considered as a key to the Old Testament^ how may the 
contents of the Ejnstle be arranged f 

Under three separate heads : (1) that which relates to the 
Person of the Son of God, as He had been described in the Old 
Testament ; (2) that which shows that the religion of the Gos- 
pel is the same under both Testaments, being shadowed out 
in the Old ; and (3) that which proves that the Church of 
Israel was a figure of the Church of Christ. 

13. ^Yhat is the key-word of this Epistle f 

This is to be found in the opening sentence of the Epistle. 
It is this— A Son ! the Son ! God's Son ! He is the author 
and embodiment of the New Revelation to man. He is our 
Prophet, Priest, and King. Him are we to hear. 

14. W7iat is the special value of a revelation coming to us 
through such a source f 

It is not only precise and explicit, but supremely authorita- 
tive, and peculiarly kind and sj'mpathetic. On the one hand, 
its sanctions are as august as its Author is Divine ; on the other, 
its tone is as tender as the Speaker is brotherly. Hear ye Him ! 

15. In what does the peculiar charm of this Epistle consist? 

It is so full of Christ. The whole of it, to use one of its own 
expressions, is a " looking unto Jesus ;" and it derives its pecu- 
liar value from its showing us how all things under the Law 
looked to Jesus also, how they were but a prediction and an 
expectation of that Son of the Highest Who should be the 
Revealer of God, the Reconciler of God and man, and the 
Ruler of His own redeemed and regenerate kingdom. 



HEBREWS. 515 

16. What great practical lessons does this Epistle teach f 

The duty of hearkening to Jesus the Son of God (ii. 1-4), and 
the fearful sin of Uflbelief and Apostasy (iii. 1-4, 13 ; vi. 1-8 ; 
X. 26-31 ; xii. 25-29). 

17. What great truth does this Epistle take for granted f 

That the Jewish religion was from God, and that instead of 
antagonism between it and Christianity, there was perfect har- 
mony between the two, the Jewish religion having dropped its 
swaddling-clothes of rites and ceremonies, being identical in 
spirit with Christianity. Christ and Christliness were the 
goal of both. 

18. W/iat are the three great promises of the New Covenant ? 

Divine Renewal, Divine Relationship, and Divine Illumina- 
tion (viii. 1-13). 

19. What grace does the Apostle show is common to both Dis- 
pensations ? 

Faith — a profound definition and telling illustrations of 
which he gives in xi. This is the triumphal column of Faith. 

20. Hoiv does the AjDOstle exhort suffering Christians to regard 
persecutions f 

As means of grace — disciplinary agencies — trials of faith 
(xii.). 

21. For luhat are the practical lessons of this Epistle rem,ark- 
ahle f 

The peculiarly appropriate motives to which the inspired 
writer appeals : (1) Be thankful, steadfast, and obedient ; for 
the darkness and terror of the ancient law have ceased, and a 
kingdom that cannot be moved is revealed (xii. 18-29). (2) Be 
content, though no earthly inheritance is set before you. There 
still remains Joshua's promise and the care of Joshua's God 
(xiii. 5, 6). (3) Follow faithful teachers, hold fast the un- 
changeable doctrine of Christ, discountenance vain traditions 
and ritual observance, joining Christ without the camp, and 
look for the New Jerusalem in return for what is lost (xiii. 
7-14). 



516 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

22. Does this Epistle teach that God regards sin any more 
favorably under the New Disjiensation than under the Old ? 

No ; for the sacred writer declares that "Our God (out of 
Christ) is (still) a coDsuming fire" (xii. 29). 

23. For what is the close of this Epistle remarkable f 

One of the sweetest benedictions in all the Bible (xiii. 20, 21). 
It is beautifully comprehensive and rich in allusions to the chief 
doctrine of the Epistle, the New Covenant and the Dignity and 
Grace of the Mediator. 

24. How does the Apostle show the superiority of the sacrifice 
of our great High Priest over those of the Old Testam,ent f 

By the word ^^ once''^ — which, in various connections, occurs 
seven times in this Epistle. 

25. What is the most precious verse or golden text of Hebrews f 

"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for- 
ever" (xiii. 8). 

26. ^Vhat is the unanswerable question of the Hebrews f 

" How shall we escape if we neglect So Great Salvation ?" 

27. What are the seven '•'• Eternals ^^ in Hebrews ? 

Eternal salvation (v. 9) ; eternal judgment (vi. 2) ; eternal 
redemption (ix. 12) ; eternal spirit (ix. 14) ; the eternal inheri- 
tance (ix. 15) ; the eternal covenant (xiii. 20) ; and eternal per- 
fection (vii. 28). 

28. What are the eleven " betters ^^ in Hebrews f 

The Son better than angels (i. 4) ; the better hope (vii. 19) ; 
the better testament (vii. 22) ; the better covenant (viii. 6) ; 
better promises (viii. 6) ; better sacrifices (ix. 23) ; a better sub- 
stance (x. 34) ; better country (xi. 16) ; a" better resurrection 
(xi. 35) ; a better provision (xi. 40) ; the better blood (xii. 24). 

29. What is the grand idea of the Epistle to the Hebrews f 

The Priesthood of the Son of God ; or Christianity a Finality 
in Religion. 



THE NON-PAULINE EPISTLES. 517 

THE NON-PAULINE EPISTLES. 

1. What Books com2D0se this group of the Neiu Testament 
writings f 

The siDgle Epistle of James, the two of Peter, the three of 
John, and the one of Jude. 

2. By what name is this groujD of Epistles comm,only known f 

As distinguished from the Pauhne Epistles, they are com- 
monly called the Catholic or General Epistles. This title is, 
however, misleading and confusing. So far as the spirit and 
scope of these Epistles are concerned, they could not be more 
catholic than are those of Paul ; and so far as being indefinite 
in their destination is concerned, this is not all true of at least 
two of them, Second and Third John being both addressed to 
particular persons. This designation is, however, of very long- 
standing, and is not likely to be changed. 

3. What substitute for the 2^^'6sent appellation might he 
adopted f 

The Non-Pauline Epistles would seem to cover the ground. 
The propriety of this appellation will appear when the fact is 
recalled that Paul is the author of two-thirds of the entire epis- 
tolary collection ; besides, his letters rank the remainder in 
value and importance. This title would embrace the whole 
seven, and avoid the confusion of idea to which the ancient 
and traditional appellation gives rise. 

4. What is the difference between the titles of the so-called 
Catholic Epistles and the Pauline letters f 

The latter take the names of the persons to whom the Epis- 
tles were addressed ; while the former are known bj^ the names 
of the writers. 

5. What are the characteristics of these seven Epistles ? 

Two of them— those of James and .Jude — belong to the Judaic 
school of Christianitj" ; two others— tliose of Peter — represent 
the intermediate position of those who wished to stand aloof 
alike from Paulinists and Judaists, on the more general ground 
of a common Christianity ; while the remaining three — those 
of John — reflect the chief controversies which agitated the 
first decades of the Church's history. 



518 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



JAMES. 

1. Who was this James ? 

As there were at least three persons of this name connected 
with the infancy of the Church, it is impossible to tell with 
certainty which one this is ; especially as he does not call him- 
self an "Apostle," but only a "servant" of God and of the 
Lord Jesus Christ (i. 1). The general opinion, however, is 
that the autlior of this Epistle is the "brother of our Lord" 
(Gal. i. 19), called, by \xixy of eminence, " James the Just." He 
was for many j^ears at the head of the Church in Jerusalem, 
and at length died a martyr. This Epistle was written not 
later than 62 a.d., shortly before his death. 

2. To whom was this Epistle addressed f 

To the Twelve Tribes of the Dispersion (i. 1)— that is, either 
to all the Jews scattered abroad among the nations, or it may 
be only to such as are Christians among them — the spiritual 
Israel. There is no allusion whatever to the Gentiles in the 
Epistle. And this may account for its apparent non-Christian 
character — while he is writing in the first instance to Chris- 
tians, he is thinking to a great extent of the Jews, whose preju- 
dices he did not wish to offend, and whom he wished to win to 
Christianity. Addressed as it is to the Twelve Tribes, this 
may be called the Second Epistle to the Hebrews. 

3. What luas the design of this Epistle ? 

This was threefold : (1) to correct the antinomian errors into 
which his fellow Jewish Christians had fallen, especially relat- 
ing to Justification by Faith ; (2) to animate their hope and 
strengthen their faith in view of afflictions felt and feared ; 
and (3) to excite the unbelieving Jews to repentance towards 
God, and faith in the rejected Messiah. The general object is 
to impress the conviction that Christian faithfulness must ex- 
press itself in the energy and action of loving service. The 
ritualism of active love and earnestness in prayer are with 
James the means of perfection. James is the sort of preacher 
our times demand. 



JAMES. 51^ 

4. What is the distinguishing characteristic of this Epistle f 

The stress it lays on Law, rather than Grace — Works, rather 
than Faith. So much is this tlie case, that Luther rejected 
it as unevangeUcal, calling it contemptuously "a downright 
strawy Epistle," and regarding it as being wholly at war, in 
doctrine and spirit, with the teachings of the Gospel as ex- 
pounded by Paul in the Romans and Galatians. 

5. Was Luther^ s point well taken 9 

No ; the discrepancy between Paul and James on the vital 
subject of Justification by Faith is only apparent, and not real. 
At bottom they are quite at one on the subject. 

6. What is the explanation of the apparent contradiction 
between James and Paul on this subject f 

It is to be found in the difference in the scope and design of 
the two writers in their respective Books. In the Romans and 
Galatians Paul's design is to prove that by the performance of 
the duties of the Law, no man is, or can be, justified, because 
his obedience is imperfect ; while the object of James in his 
Letter is to prove that no man can be justified by a faith that 
is not vital and forceful, tending to holiness. The two are not 
therefore contradictory, but only supplemental of each other, 
and guard each other against abuse and excess. The one 
judges the tree by its fruit, the other, proceeding from the 
root, defines what constitutes the tree. 

7. How does James view Christianity f 

In conformity with his character, education, and office, he 
conceives Objective Christianity as Law — a law to be obeyed as 
well as a doctrine to be believed— but as "the Perfect law of 
Liberty" (i. 25), and " the Royal Law" of Love (ii. 8). He is 
the representative, not of Judaism, but of Christian Judaism 
— that is, of Judaism in its transformation and transfiguration. 

8. How does James regard the Law — the Decalogue ? 

He views it in its deep moral import, and as such an organic 
unit that whoever transgresses a single precept violates the 
whole, and incurs the full penalty. The Ten Commandments 
are not ten laws, but ten parts of one Law (ii. 10). 



520 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

9. What does James regard as the sum and substance of the 
Law? 

Love. Consequently he places the Essence of the Christian 
religion in a holy, irreproachable walk of love, and of a love, 
too, based ultimately on the New Birth (i. 17, 18, 21), and on 
faith in Christ, the Lord of Glory (ii. 1, 22). 

10. Hoiv may James be best characterized in the light of this 
Epistle f 

As the Apostle of the Law as leading to Christ, regulating 
the Christian life, and promoting moral earnestness. 

11. What is the striking feature of James as an author ? 

His familiarity with the Books of Scripture. In this Epistle 
we can even trace the portions of Old Testament story which 
had the deepest charm for him, and the impression which they 
left in his mind. He alludes to Abraham, to Rahab, to Elijah ; 
he refers to the Pentateuch, to the Psalms, to Isaiah, and to 
the Prophet Amos. He shows also a great familiarity with 
the Apocryphal writings, this Epistle containing at least thir- 
teen references to the books of Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom in 
the short compass of five chapters. That, however, which in- 
fluenced him most was the Sermon on the Mount, to which he 
makes some fourteen allusions. In fact he makes more refer- 
ences to the discourses of Christ than all the others put 
together. 

12. ^Vtlat is remarkable about this Epistle in connection with 
the Name of our Lord f 

That Name occurs only twice in the Epistle, but each time 
with great reverence as the Divine Master (i. 1), and as the 
Lord of glory (ii. 1). The word ** Gospel" is not in it at all. 

13. How does James define true religion? 

As active philanthropy and personal purity (i. 27). 

14. What are the leading topics touched on in this Epistle f 

The nature and results of prayer (i. 5-8; iv. 2-4; v. 13-18), 
the source of temptation and the fatal and rapid progress of 
lusl>— its three terrible steps— lust ! sin ! death ! (i. 13-15), the 



JAMES. 521 

valuelessness of lifeless orthodoxy (i. 19-24) ; the definition of 
true religion (i. 27), discrimination against the poor (ii. 1-12), 
the union of faith and works (ii. 14-26), the use and abuse of 
the tongue (iii. 1-14), the source and characteristics of wisdom 
(iii. 15-18), thoughtlessness (iv. 13-17), the sins of the rich 
(v. 1-6), patience under tribulation (v. 7-11), spiritual clinics, 
or Christian prescriptions for tlie pliysically sick (v. 15), the 
duty of mutual Christian Confession (v. 16), and the great in- 
centive to soul-winning (v. 19, 20). 

15. What is the style and manner of this Epistle ? 

The style is clear, polished, and poetical ; there is deep 
earnestness, true pathos, grandeur of thought and beauty, 
even splendor of imagery, recalling the style of the best of the 
minor prophets. The writer's manner, both of thought and 
expression, combines the plainest and most practical good 
sense, with the most vivid and poetical conceptions. 

16. In what respect does this Ejyistle differ from all the others 9 

Alone of the twenty-one Epistles of the New Testament, 
that of James begins with no benediction, and ends with no 
message of peace. This is doubtless accounted for by his per- 
sonal peculiarities and the position he occupied in the Church 
at the time. The Epistle is of the nature of a warning to 
Jerusalem, so that James discliarged the work of a Hebrew 
Prophet and of a Christian Apostle. He came forth as a 
Christian Jeremiah and a Christian Malachi. A Jeremiah in 
denouncing woe ; a Malachi sealing up the roll of Divine 
prophecy to Jerusalem. The Epistle of James is therefore the 
farewell voice of Hebrew Prophecy. 

17. How may this Episile of James he briefly characterized f 
As the Believer's Looking-glass, or the Touchstone of Chris- 
tian character. Obedience is its watchword — the Obedience 
of Faith. 



522 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE EPISTLES OF PETER. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. What were the chief phases of Peter^s character f 

He was the great confessor ; the great denier ; the genuine 
penitent ; the bold champion ; the great spiritual door-opener ; 
the great preacher and apologist ; and the humble martyr — 
requesting to be crucified head-downward, feeling himself un- 
worthy to die like his Master. So the tradition, at least, is. 

2. In what respects did Peter differ from his so-called papal 
successors f 

He was and continued to be a married man, thus protesting 
against the enforced celibacy of the Roman clergy. In other 
respects also the contrast is verj^ great between the so-called 
first Pope and the modern politico-ecclesiastical article of that 
grade. 

3. When were these Epistles of Peter written f 

Both were written late in the Apostle's life, while the Second 
Epistle was penned shortly- before his martyrdom (i. 14, 15), a 
circumstance that clothes it with the same peculiar and solemn 
interest as is attached to Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy, 
which was written under similar circumstances. 

4. MTiere were these Epistles of Peter written ? 

The First is dated from Babylon (v. 13), which, by any fair 
interpretation, cannot mean Rome, the mystic Babylon of the 
Apocalypse, but the ancient city on the banks of the Euphrates ; 
while there is no means of determining where the Second 
Epistle was written, if it was not dated at the same place. 
This is most likely the case. 

5. To whom were these Epistles addressed f 

To the Hebrew Christians— the strangers of the Dispersion 
in various portions of Asia Minor (i. 1), the Eastern Diaspora. 
There was obvious propriety in this; since Peter was the 
Apostle of the Circumcision, even as Paul was of the Uncir- 



THE EPISTLES OF PETER. 523 

cumcision, and such letters as these from Peter to the converts 
made by Paul and his associates, would show to the Jewish 
Christians of Asia Minor the harmony between Peter and his 
great co-laborer Paul — the one the Apostle of the Jews and the 
other of the Gentiles — in all the essential doctrines of salvation 
(1 Pet. V. 12 ; 2 Pet. iii. 15). 

6. What is the character of these Epistles of Peter 9 

They contain precious consolations and exhortations, and 
breathe a sweet, gentle, lovely, humble spirit, thoroughly 
mastered and softened by Divine Grace, and are full of joy 
and hope in view of threatening persecutions. In them the 
Apostle is carrying out the command of his Lord, when He 
said to him, "And, thou, when thou art converted, strengthen 
thy brethren" (Luke xxii. 32). 

7. What are the resemblances and points of difference be- 
tween Peter ^ Paul^ and James ? 

Peter dwells with all the energy of James on the glory of 
practical virtue, and with much of the fervor of Paul on the 
distinctively Christian motives and sanctions ; while it is no 
part of his object to follow Paul in the logical development 
and formulation of Christian theology, nor yet to dwell with the 
exclusiveness of James on Christian practice. James does not 
mention the word "Gospel;" while Peter is entirely silent 
about the Law ; the former barely alludes to a single event in 
the life of our Lord, while the latter makes every truth and 
exhortation hinge on His Example, His Sufferings, His Cross, 
His Resurrection, and His Exaltation. Peter dwells more ex- 
clusively than Paul on moral duties and leans more immedi- 
ately than James on Gospel Truths. 

FIRST PETER. 

8. What is the tenor of Peter^s first Epistle f 

It is a brief and yet very clear summary both of the conso- 
lations and instructions needful for the encouragement and 
direction of a Christian in his Journey or Pilgrimage to 
Heaven ; elevating his thoughts and desires to that happiness, 
and strengthening him against all opposition in the way, 
both that of corruption within, and temptations and afflic- 



524 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

tions from without. There is no Epistle in the Sacred Canon, 
the language and spirit of which come more directly home to 
the personal trials and wants and weaknesses of the Christian 
Hfe. 

9. What was the chief end of this First Epistle ? 

As John in his Gospel (xx. 31) states the object he had in 
view in its writing, so Peter in v. 12 of this Epistle states his 
purpose in its composition. Rewrote to testify and exhort; 
to confirm the converts in the truths which they had already 
learned from the missions of Paul and his companions, and to 
comfort them under persecutions by encouragements founded 
on the hopes of which they were partakers, and on the example 
and eflfect of the sutferings of Christ. 

10. To rvhat class of motives does the Aj^ostle appeal to secure 
obedience f 

While the design of the Epistle is practical, it is as evangel- 
ical as if it had been chiefly doctrinal. Like his "beloved 
brother Paul," Peter urges the doetriues of the Gospel as the 
great motives to hoHness and patience; and like him he de- 
scends to the enforcement of every relative duty, while giving 
the most exalted view of our privileges as believers. 

11. What is the Keij-note of this Epistle f 

Hope. Its main message is— Endure, Submit, for you are 
the Heirs of Salvation. 

12. What is the difference in the title Peter assumes at the be- 
ginning and at the end of this First Ejnstle f 

In the opening he takes the title of Apostle ; but as, not the 
Apostolate but the Presbyterate was to be the permanent office 
of superintendence in the Church, in addressing those who 
held that office towards the close of his Epistle (v. 1), he calls 
himself their co-presbyter, and bids them '*feed the flock of 
God." 

13. What are some of the chief topics touched on in this First 
Epistle f 

Believers' standing (i. 2) ; their glorious reservation (i. 3-5) ; 
the trial of their faith (i. 7) ; their holy character (i. 15) ; the 



THE EPISTLES OF PETER. 525 

means of their redemption (i. 19), of their regeneration (i. 23), 
of their sanctification (ii. 2) ; their example in suffering (ii. 21- 
25) ; female decorations (iii. 1-6) ; the joy of suffering for 
Christ (iv. 14-16) ; the purification of the Church (iv. 17, 18) ; 
the prayer for perfection (v. 10). 



SECOND PETER. 

1. Is there any question as to the genuineness of Second 
Peter ? 

Yes ; it is by many hostile critics pronounced as certainly 
apocryphal ; while it must be admitted on all hands that it is 
the most weal^ly authenticated of all the Books of the New 
Testament. It has the smallest amount of external evidence 
in its favor, while at the same time it offers the greatest num- 
ber of internal difficulties. 

2. What is the character of the internal difficulties ? 

Its radical difference in style, character, and structure of 
words from the First Epistle ; its striking resemblances in some 
of its passages to Josephus the Jewish historian ; and also its 
similarity to the Epistle of Jude — all of which go to argue 
against the Epistle being the direct work of the Apostle Peter. 

3. Wltat seems to be the true explanation of the phenomena of 
this Epistle f 

That we have not here the style and words of the Great Apos- 
tle, but that he lent to this Epistle the sanction of his name 
and the assistance of his advice. If this be so, it is still in its 
main essence genuine as well as "Canonical, and there is a rea- 
son both for its peculiarities and its tardy reception by the 
primitive Church. 

4. }Vhat laas the design of the Second Epistle of Peter ? 

As the First Epistle was written to fortify Christian brethren 
in the endurance of afflictions from without ; this bids them 
watch against dangers within the Church, in the form of de- 
ceptive teachers and mocking sceptics, who would turn them 
away from the hope of the Gospel. 



526 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

5. What is the nature and character of the Second Epistle ? 

It is confirmatory, cautionary, and hortatory. Tiie object 
and aim of the Epistle is stated in iii. 17, 18, and the other por- 
tions of it are designed to aid in accomplishing this purpose. 

6. What does the Apostle recommend as the best pi^eservative 
against yielding to prevailing error and practical infidelity? 

Progressive piety and implicit trust in Holy Scripture (i. 3- 

21). 

7. What is the difference between i. and ii. of Second Peter f 

The tone is entirely different, being changed from grave 
exhortation to stern warning and even severe denunciation. 
Having set before the brethren the true Light to which they 
should take heed (i. 19), the Apostle puts his fellow-Christians 
on their guard against the false lights that would lure them to 
destruction. Woe ! woe ! to all who demoralize Christian 
society— is the tenor of this dark prophetic chapter. 

8. How does the Apostle enforce his warnings ? 

By assuring the false teachers and those who were beginning 
to yield to their seductions that the Second Coming of the 
Lord, though long delayed, through long-suffering, is as certain 
as the fact of the Deluge (iii. 1-13) ; and then he exhibits the 
bright side of the same truth, and bids Christians be diligent 
and holy (iii. 14-18). Appealing to Paul's teaching, in confir- 
mation of his views, he marks how men had wrested his teach- 
ings so as to make it countenance most pernicious practices— 
an evil to be remedied not by neglecting those Scriptures, but 
by increased teachableness and humility (iii. 15, 16). 

9. What are some of the chief topics touched upon in this Sec- 
ond Epistle ? 

Progressive piety— its nature and benefits (i. 3-11) ; the suf- 
ficiency of the Scriptures (i. 16-21) ; the doom of the corrupters 
of Christianity and their victims, and the awful end of apos- 
tates (ii.) ; wilful ignorance (iii. 1-10) ; the certainty and sud- 
denness of the coming judgment (iii. 10-18) ; and the unity of 
apostolic teaching (iii. 15, 16). 



THE EPISTLES OP PETER. 527 

10. What are the five precious things of Peter ? 

The trial of faith (1 Pet. i. 7) ; the precious blood (1 Pet. 1. 
19) ; the precious Christ (1 Pet. ii. 4-7) ; the precious promises 
(2 Pet. i. 4) ; precious faith (2 Pet. i. 1). The central one of the 
live is 1 Pet. ii. 7, the key of the whole Epistle. 

11. How may these two Epistles of Peter he summarily char- 
acterized ? 

The First as the Book of Incentives to Christian Persever- 
ance, and the Second, Peter's Valedictory, or a Warning against 
Apostasy. 

12. What grace is most characteristic of Peter f 

As Paul is the Apostle of Faith, and John of Love, so 
Peter is the Apostle of Hope — a glorious trinity. 



528 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

THE EPISTLES OF JOHN. 

FIRST JOHN. 

1. What special interest attaches to this group of the writings 
of the Beloved Disciple f 

Apart from their own beauty and importance, the fact that 
they are the latest utterances of Apostolic inspiration gives an 
added charm to these productions. This is especially true of 
the First Epistle, which able critics now assign the best of rea- 
sons for believing was the very latest of all the inspired com- 
positions. If this be so, then, were the Books placed in the 
Canon in their proper chronological order, our Bible would 
close, as to all intents and purposes the Volume of Inspiration 
did close, with this gentle and solemn warning of the last 
Apostle — " Little children, keep yourselves from idols." 

2. What is a striking feature of the later writings of this last 
of the Ajyostles ? 

Just what we might expect to find in the writings of " the 
Apostle of completion" — a stamp of finality — the use of words 
and expressions such as the Word, Life, Light, Love, and that 
brief and all-conii)rehensive summary of the Atoning and Me- 
diatorial work of our Lord found in 1 John i. 2, that cannot be 
transcended — the absolute and infinite — which mark the close 
of the Ins^Dired Revelation. 

3. How does the style of John differ from that of his theolog- 
ical colleague^ Paul f 

The two original theologians of the New Testament, their 
styles are widely different. Paul is dialectic, discursive, syllo- 
gistic ; John, more like his Master, moving in the sphere of a 
few ultimate verities, is contemplative, intuitive, announcing 
tlie great finalities of eternal truth without the logician's 
method of reaching them. Paul begins with man, John with 
God ; Paul passes from anthropology to theology ; while John 
moves chiefly in the theologic sphere. Paul reasons most re- 
specting the righteousness of God and how it becomes the justi- 
fication of man ; John's aim is to show the nature of Eternal 
X«/e, and how man participates therein. Compare especially 
Rom. iii. 21-24 with 1 John iv. 9, in which the characteristic 



THE EPISTLES OF JOHN. 529 

differences which separate the theological conceptions of the 
two Apostles are most strikingly illustrated It is a rich boon 
to possess the views of both. 

4. What connection is there between the Fourth Gospel and the 

First Epistle ? 

The closest possible, the Gospel being the earlier of the two. 
The Gospel is intelligible by itself ; the Epistle would hardly 
be intelligible without some jDrevious instruction as to its 
phraseology. The Gospel deals with the Personal history of 
the Word become Flesh ; the Epistle shows how that event 
bears on the errors which were beginning to creep into the 
Church and in the lives of its individual members. The Epis- 
tle deals not directly with the Person of our Lord, but with 
the influence which followed from it, — namely, Life. 

5. What is peculiar about the form of First John ? 

Like the Hebrews, though called an Epistle, it has more 
the character of a treatise or discourse on the doctrines and 
duties of Christianity. Like the Hebrews, also, it is anony- 
mous, though it attests itself at once by the introduction as 
well as by the striking similarity of thought and style, as the 
work of the author of the Fourth Gospel. Like the Hebrews, 
again, this First Epistle is not addressed to any Cliurch or 
body of Christians in particular, but to Christians generally ; 
for whose welfare, as the sole surviving Apostle, John cher- 
ished the deepest paternal solicitude. 

6. What then is the character of this composition ? 

Steering the middle course between regarding it, on the one 
hand, as a letter, and, on the other, as a treatise, this composi- 
tion may be looked upon as a didactic address, an apostolical 
encyclical, a circular letter of exhortation and encouragement 
to the Churches of Asia Minor, which were already well versed 
in the faith, built on the golden foundation of Paul's doctrine 
of Grace. 

7. What luas the object and design of this Apostolical Encyc- 
lical f 

Addressed to Christians, it does not aim so much to produce 
as to nourish Christian life, to warn them against all errors— 



530 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

false doctrines and false principles— and to induct them into 
the mysteries of Redeeming Love and into the principles and 
duties which the religion of Christ enjoins, and to furnish 
them with certain signs or criteria by which to determine the 
genuineness of their faith. He shows that there can be no 
fellowship with God without righteousness, rooted in faith and 
manifested by love ; and that Christians ought not only to live 
such a life, but do so, because they are born of God. 

8. What were the chief errors against ivhich the Aj^ostle 
ivarncd the Christians of his time ? 

He warned them against all moral laxness, against all inter- 
mixture of Light with Darkness, of Truth with Falsehood, of 
the Love of God with the Love of the World, and against 
the influence of those Gnostic, Docetietic, Cerenthian " anti- 
christs" who denied the Reality of the Incarnation, the true 
union of Deity and Humanity in Jesus Christ ; who separated 
the Knowing of Christ from the Following of Him, Religion 
from Morality. 

9. What are some of the leading ivords in John's vocab- 
ulary ? 

Love occurs in his Gospel either as noun or verb about 50 
times and in tlie First Epistle 45 times ; EteRxXAL Life and 
Everlasting Life occur in the Gospel togetlier 17 times, in 
the Epistle 6 times ; Know occurs in the Epistle 14 times, 
whence it may be called the Gospel of Assurance ; Truth is 
found in the Epistle 9 times, Righteous 8 times ; Witness 
7 times, and Light G times. 

10. What definition does this Apostle give us of Eternity ? 

In his view it is not so much endless duration as an ethical 
(piality. Eternal life is not so much an infinite extension of 
time as it is an endless progression in knowledge (Jolin xvii. 
2, 3). It is an antithesis not to what is temporal, but to what 
is seen ; that it is not a life which ^hall be, but one that, for the 
believer, now IS (John iii. 36 ; v. 24 ; vi. 40, 47, 54) ; and one of 
the objects in John's writing to Christians was that they might 
Know that they had it (1 John v. 13, 14). Eternal life is there- 
fore spiritual, supratemporal, Divine— not mere endless ex- 
istence. 



THE EPISTLES OF JOHN. 53l 

11. What are the great ultimate conceptions of God giuen to 
us in the later writings of John ? 

These are four : In the Gospel one— God is Spirit (iv. 24) ; 
in the Epistle three— God is Light (i. 5) ; God is Righteous 
(iii. 7) ; and God is Love (iv. 8) — this last the most blessed 
truth ever uttered to human hearts. These are the great 
Finalities of Scripture, and stamp John as in every way fit to 
be " the Apostle of completion." 

12. What are the chief positive teachings of Fir'st John? 

We are taught the true nature of Fellowship with God — He 
is Light and Love and Righteous — therefore we must be puri- 
fied and redeemed and love one another ; the blessedness and 
duties of Sonship — not only fellowship, but adoption being 
our i^rivilege in Christ ; and we must be like our Father 
— Righteous, and conformed to Christ, the Sinless One Who 
came to take away sin- ; it teaches us also that Love is a neces- 
sary condition of sonship. 

13. What is the dominant thought of this Encyclical 9 

The Love of God and of the brethren, founded on living 
faith in the GoD-Man, Whose history is fully given in the 
Gospel ; in other words, the Idea of Fellowship in its twofold 
aspect— the Union of believers with God and His Son Jesus 
Christ, and the Union of believers with one another. 

14. What is the ti^uth most largely insisted on in this Encyc- 
lical f 

The necessity of Holiness, as the evidence and fruit of faith 
in the Great Propitiation. 

15. What is a distinguishing characteinstic of this comp>osi- 
tion ? 

Its spirituality. As in his Gospel, so here John goes for evi- 
dence, proof, satisfaction, within, into the breast. His wisdom 
is of the heart ; his faith is less of belief than trust ; less by 
argument than intuition. He was the great lover of Jesus. 

16. What light does this cii'cular letter throw on the charac- 
ter of the ivrlter 9 

That though he was a beloved and loving disciple, this com- 



532 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

position justifies the surname the Master bestowed upon him 
— Boanerges. He liere appears to be a true son of thunder, 
smiting witli terrific force and earnestness every form of false 
doctrine. He is in tliis encychcal a plain blunt man, calling 
things by their right names — no euphemistic circumlocution 
here. With John a lie is a lie. Thus the gentlest Christian 
may be a son of thunder when Christ's honor is at stake, and 
Charity may be exercised in denouncing sin as well as loving 
the brethren. 

17. What word is j^cculia?' to this Epistle ? 

Antichrist. It means either one who claims to be Christ, 
or opposed to Him ; and such are all who deny that Jesus is 
Messiah — that is, the Christ, or that Messiah has come in the 
flesh. It is difficult to see how, according to the Apostle's 
definition, the Pope, bad as is the system he represents, is 
anliclirist. When the word is applied to the Great Apostasy 
(2 Thes. ii. 3-10), as it is in modern discussions, it means that 
that Apostasy is supremely opposed to our Lord in His teaching 
and office. 

18. What is the Key-word of this Epistle f 

Love. This word occurs in tliis letter either as a noun or 
a verb some forfy-Jivc times, mostly in iv., where the Ap.ostle is 
treating directly of that subject. Tliis same word occurs only 
five times in Mark, twelve times in Matthew, fifteen times in 
Luke, and about fifty times in the Fourth Gospel. Love God 
and be like Him — that is John's Great Idea. 

19. What sixfold reason docs the Apostle assign for writing 
this Encyclical f 

That the joy of those to whom he wrote might be full (i. 4) ; 
that they should not sin (ii. 1) ; because their sins are forgiven 
for Christ's sake (ii. 12), and because they know the Father 
(ii. 13); because they knew the truth (ii. 21), and that they 
might know the certainty of their salvation and believe ou the 
Name of the Son of God (v. 13). 

20. What is the character of John's personal creed ? 

It is brief and of the heart — in Greek only three words — 
"We have believed the Love" (iv. IG). This creed goes to the 



THE EPISTLES OF JOHN. 533 

root of all heresies upon the Incarnation, whether then or 
at any subsequent period. This should be our " Credlmus" as 
well, and it is enough — the whole faith of a Christian man. 

21. What is this Apostle^ s method of etnphasizing his thoughts ? 

By repetition of a given word — iteration and reiteration, 
until it has impressed itself upon our minds. For instance, 
"fellowship" occurs four times in five verses (i. 3-7) ; "com- 
mandment" six times in five verses (ii. 3-8) ; " world" six 
times in three verses (ii. 15-17) ; "Antichrist" three times in 
five verses (18-22), though the section about Antichrist extends 
to verse 27; "sin" substantive and verb ten times in five 
verses (iii. 4-9); " brother" and brethren" eight times in as 
many verses in which the Apostle inculcates brotherly love 
(iii. 9-17); "spirit" six times in seven verses (iii. 24-iv. 6); 
"love" verb and substantive thirty-one times in the seven- 
teen verses in which he treats at length of that subject (iv. 
7-v. 3); "overcometh" three times in the next two verses 
(iv. 4, 5) ; and " witness^' as substantive or verb, in the Greek 
ten times in six verses (v. G-12). Here the Apostle refers to his 
Gospel and emphasizes the fact that it is a Gospel of Witness 
to Jesus as the God-Man. 

22. What passage in this Epistle is now conceded on alt hands 
to be spurious ? 

That concerning the Three Heavenly Witnesses (v. 7). This 
passage is famous as the one around which the great debate 
with Arius raged in the 4th Century. It is the one pas- 
sage always first cited by Trinitarians, as more clearly than 
any other in all the Bible teaching the doctrine of the 
Trinity in Unity. For while the doctrine of the Trinity, like 
a Divine Monogram, is inwrought in the very texture of Scrip- 
ture, there is no other passage which says as this one — "and 
these three are one." 

23. What three expressions of the New Testament which de- 
scribe the privileges of the Christian estate are foimd in this 
Epistle f 

Righteousness (ii. 29) ; Sonship (iii. 1) ; and Sanctification 
(iii. 2-5). These three are one. The terms of the Court, the 
Household and the Temple confirm and illustrate each other. 



534 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

Jesus Christ the Righteous, the Son of the Father, the 
Holy One — presides in the glory of His Holiness over all and 
over each. 

24. Into hoiu many words does this great Apostle of Comple- 
tion com^yress the ivhole of practical theology ? 

Two— Believe and Love (iii. 23). 

25. How may the contents of this profound Epistle he divided f 

Its extreme richness and fulness renders its analysis exceed- 
ingly difficult, and hardly any two persons agree as to what it 
ought to be. Witli the doctrine of the Trinity in mind as the 
theme of the Epistle, an eminent expositor divides it thus : 
(1) Exordium (i. 1-4) ; (2) Treatment of the subject (i. 5-v. 12) ; 
(3) Conclusion (v. 13-21). Another has endeavored to group 
its contents around its three great thoughts— God is Light ; 
God is Righteous ; God is Love. Another makes the writer's 
thouglits cluster around the three grand centres— Light (i. 5- 
ii. 11), Love (ii. 12-v. 3), and Life (v. 4-21). Another still, 
making the grand theme — Eternal Life manifested by tlie 
Word as the ground and root of Christian Fellow^ship with 
God and with one another— divides it into three parts ; (1) 
Eternal Life — the evidence of its possession (i. 5-v. 5) ; (2) The 
possession of Eternal Life produces confidence (ii. 28-v. 5); 
(3) Final illustrations and Conclusion (v. 6-21). 

26. How may this Epistle he swnm,ed yp in a wordf 
Heavenly Fellowship : its Nature and Criteria. 

SECOND JOHN. 

1. What is the nature of John^s Second Ejoistle ? 

It is a private letter to a Christian woman and her children 
— a lady whose eminence in piety warranted the Apostle in 
addressing her as Eclecta — the chosen one. 

2. ^Hiat is 2^eculiar ahout this Second Epistle of John f 

Neither the writer's name nor that of his correspondent ap- 
pears in it. It was enough for the Apostle to describe himself 
as by emphasis "the presbyter" or elder, not only because of 



THE EPISTLES OP JOHN. 535 

his office, but of his great age, being then doubtless well-nigh 
100 years old. 

3. How then is the autho?'ship of this letter certainly known f 

Of the thirteen verses in this Epistle, eight are in substance 
found in the first, and it is concluded from the similarity of 
style and subject that they were both written about the same 
time, about the same topics, and by the same hand. 

4. What is the special significance of the Apostolic letter to a 
lady ? 

It shows the position of respect to which Christianity raised 
woman. In oriental lands, even to-day, woman is little ac- 
counted of; but two Books in our Bible actually bear the 
names of women — Ruth and Esther, and here is an Apostolic 
letter to another. This is most significant of the new estima- 
tion of woman's i3osition towards God and His Word. 

5. W7iat are the matters prominent in this Epistle f 

The Apostle's appreciation of female piety, his joy over 
young Christians, and his very decided resistance to all who 
propagated antichristian error. 

6. What comprehensive summary of a noble and upright life 
does the Apostle give in this Epistle 9 

To walk in the truth (iv.). There is nothing grander, purer, 
higher ; and there is nothing so exactly descriptive of the com- 
plete and perfect character. The biography of multitudes 
miffht be written in a word— their lives are— Lies ! 



'&' 



7. What evidence of vital Christianity does the Apostle require 
in this Epistle f 

Not mere rapture or ecstasy or enthusiasm, or simple senti- 
mentalism, or fervent feeling, but consistent obedience to the 
known will of Christ— a daily and hearty compliance with 
the commandments of God (6). 

8. What light does this Epistle throiv on the importance of 
nnaternal piety 9 

It shows the importance in the sight of God of the station of 



536 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

a Christian Mother, and the earnestness with whicli she should 
interest herself in the Religious Welfare of her Children. 

9. How may this Second Ephstle of John be briefly described ? 
As the Credentials of Christian Motherhood. 

THIRD JOHN. 

1. What are the peculiarities of Third John f 

In its length and style, in its description of a noble life, in 
the longing for a personal interview, and in the fact that it is 
semi-anonymous, tliis Third Epistle quite resembles the Second. 
There is also that same combination of sternness with tender- 
ness which we always trace in the Apostle John. 

2. In what respect does this Third Epistle differ from the 
Second ? 

Mainly in the personality and position of the Apostle's cor- 
respondent. In the one case it is a lady in private station — 
in the domestic circle — in the other it is a man whom the 
Aj)ostle might very well have addressed as he did the lady — as 
Eclectos — a Christian gentleman, as he appears more to the 
public eye, " before the Church." 

3. What three representative 2^Grsons are introduced to our 
notice in this Third Epistle ? 

Gains the Good, to whom the letter is addressed ; Diotrephes 
the. Bad — a member of the Church ; and Demetrius the Noble, 
the helper of every good cause, and, like Gaius, a man after the 
Apostle's own heart. 

4. What was the occasion of this Ejiistle to Gaius ? 

Certain disciples on a missionary tour had come to the 
town where Gaius lived. These missionary volunteers were 
haughtily disowned by Diotrephes, but Gaius, an eminent 
Christian, particularly distinguished for his hospitality, true 
to his character (Rom. xvi. 23 and 1 Cor. i. 14), received them 
" in His Name," although they were strangers to him, or per- 
sonally unknown. When these men reached Ephesus they 
made a report to the Church there, and in doing so mentioned 
this timely act of Christian love. The Apostle thereupon wrote 



THE EPISTLES OF JOHN. 537 

to Gains to commend his conduct and to encourage in him the 
disposition to welcome such brethren, and so to bear himself 
as a " fellow-helper for the truth." 

5. What was the thing which has made the name of Gains 
famous f 

His name is honored in Holy Scripture, and he is embalmed 
in blessed memory, not for any surpassing powers he possessed, 
any social influence he wielded, or any qualities of intellectual 
eminence, but for truth and love in daily life, and for a simple, 
unpretending act of kindness done to Christ's representatives. 
It was the story of Mary and her ointment over again (Mark 
ill. 9). Gaius's house was a sort of modern " Ministers' Hotel." 
As in the Second Epistle hospitality was forbidden toward 
propagators of error, here it is especially encouraged toward 
promulgators of the truth. 

6. What ivas the object of this Third Epistle ? 

To congratulate Gains, reprove Diotrephes, and commend 
Demetrius — representative characters to be found in almost 
every Church and Christian community to-day. 

7. WJtat tvas the 2:)eculiar feature of the A2^ostle's gratulatory 
greeting to Gains 9 

He made His spiritual state the measure of his wish for his 
temporal welfare. 

8. ^^^at inference are we to draw from this letter to Gains 
and Paid^s letter to Philemon f 

That the Apostles wrote as Apostles even in their private 
letters, and that, whatever the theme of their communications, 
they imparted to each other a savor of Christ. 

9. What do these two x>rivate letters of " the Presbyter,''^ taken 
together^ teach us ? 

Tliey show us the thoughts of an apostle regarding Christian 
Womanhood and Manhood for all generations. Each has their 
sphere, but Christ is alike the Model for both. 

10. What is the theme of Third John? 
Hospitality a test of Christian character and spirit. 



538 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

JUDE. 

1. Who was Jude ? 

No more is kiiovvn about him than he states himself in the 
opening verse of his Epistle. Here he describes himself as 
" the brother of James," the distinguished author of the Epis- 
tle that bears his name. He does not profess to be one of the 
Twelve, and the general impression is that, though an Apos- 
tolic man, he was not an Apostle. 

2. What are the distinguishing features of this Epistle ? 

It abounds in original and picturesque expressions, and 
fearlessly utilizes both Jewish legend and the apocryphal lit- 
erature with which, like his more eminent brother, he was 
familiar. In the passionate vehemence of the denunciations 
against Gnostic libertinism, it reads like a page of Ajuos or 
Isaiah. It is a sort of partial and anticipated Apocalypse, but 
it rests content with isolated metaphors instead of continuous 
symbols. Its close resemblance in some of its passages to Sec- 
ond Peter is also another striking peculiarity of this Epistle. 

3. What was the design of this E^nstle of Jude ? 

Almost the same as that of Second Peter. It is intended to 
guard the Christian Church against those false teachers, the 
Antinomians of their time, who resolved all religi^on into spec- 
ulative belief and outward profession, and sought to allure the 
disciples into insubordination and licentiousness. The differ- 
ence between Second Peter and Jude lies in this — that in the 
former is sketched the iniquity^ here the apostasy of " the last 
days." 

4. How does Jude seek to accomplish his design 9 

By a vivid exhibition of the terrors of God's judgment upon 
the wicked, and by a recurrence to that great principle of our 
religion— dependence on Christ alone to keep us from fixlli ng. 
The doom which awaits the corrupter of Christianity and the 
seducer of souls he shows to be fearful and certain. 

5. How may the contents of the Epistle be divided f 

Into five parts : (1) the salutation and the reasons for writ- 
ing (1-4) ; (2) the description of the punishment of the false 



JUDE. 539 

teachers (5-7) ; (3) the description of the character of these 
seducers (8-19) ; and (4) the concluding exhortation (20-23), 
and (5) the grand doxology, 

6. What matter is peculiar to this Epistle ? 

Tlie incident about Micliael the Archangel contending with 
the Devil about the body of Moses (9), and the prophecy of 
Enoch (14), are not elsewhere referred to in the Bible. 

7. Hoiu does this ^^ servant of Jesus Christ" ansiver the 
pleas luhich the ungodly urge in arrest of judgment f 

He cites Old Testament instances to illustrate the New, and 
facts to prove principles. 

8. Against what eharacteristie of our oivn age does this 
Epistle bear ivith special force '^ 

Its frightful latitudinarianism which is making the most 
insidious inroads on the faith, rejecting all dogmatic teaching, 
and accepting nothing in Christianity but the spirit of love 
and philanthropy which it breathes. Against this destructive 
tendency, this false liberality, Jude utters his earnest exhorta- 
tion (3, 20). 

9. What strong conti'ast do we find in this Epistle f 

That between those who kept not their first estate and are 
kept for judgment, and those who keep themselves and are 
kept from falling. 

10. What is the pith of Jude ? 

Latitudinarianism the foe of holiness and spirituality — a 
warning against Apostasy. 



540 



THE TEMPLE OPENED. 



THE APOCALYPSE. 

1. Why is this Book so called f 

The word means unveiling or revealing of that which had 
been hidden, and the Bool^ is so called because it consists 
cliiefly of matters prophetical— things which are to come— 
which were revealed to John by our Lord Jesus Christ. 
The Book is therefore an unveiling or revealing of the future 
— a Revelation. 

2. What in general is this Book of Revelation f 

It is the third species of Apostolic literature, the last and 
most mysterious Book of the Bible, constituting a most ap- 
propriate and sublime conclusion to this Book of Books. A 
Book of Wonders, it is a wonderful Book. A Book of Seals, 
it is the Divine Seal of the completed Volume of Revealed 
Truth. 

3. Where, ivhoi, and by whom 7(>as this Book tvritten ? 

Instead of being the Inst, as its position in the Canon would 
indicate, tlie Revelation of John was, in tlie opinion of many 
of tlie learned, in all probability, tlie earliest composed of any 
of the Books of the N(»\v Testament. It was written by the 
Beloved Disciple in the Isle of Patmos, banished to that in- 
hospitable spot for the sake of Christ. 

4. To what Books of the Old Testament does the Ajoocalypse 
bear a resemblance ? 

To Ezekiel and Da!ii(>l, both in form and substance. So 
much is this the case, inde(Ml, that it appears to be a continua- 
tion of the prophecies of Daniel, but given with greater fulness 
of detail ; the principal topics being the same, and the termi- 
nation exactly identical. 

5. In ivhat respects does this New Testament Apocalypse 
differ from the Old Testament prophetic literature? 

With the poetic and symbolical style it unites also the epis- 
tolary in the letters to the seven churches. It intersperses its 



THE APOCALYPSE. 541 

visions with 13'Tic anthems and doxologies, as subUme, inspir- 
ing, beautiful, and familiar as are any portions of the Scrip- 
tures, which afford tlie soul a delightful resting-place amid 
the rushing crowd of events. It differs from tlie apocalyptic 
literature of the Old Testament, too, in its specifically Chris- 
tian element, the reference of all the parts to the Crucified and 
now" glorified God-Man. 

6. What especialli/ is the difference in theme between the Old 
Testament and New Testam,ent prophecy ? 

The grand theme of the Old Testament prophecy is the 
First Coming, that of the New Testament prophecy the Second 
Coming of the Lord and His Kingdom with all the prepara- 
tory and attendant events. There is one voice in all its Epis- 
tles, seals, trumpets, vials, plagues, and visions of glory and 
joy— The Lord Cometh. 

7. What is the one grand disclosure the Book makes f 

Unrolling a sublime panorama of Christ's victorious march 
through the world's history for the comfort and encourage- 
ment of Christians under their various sufferings and discour- 
agements, it discloses the final triumph of Christianity over 
all its enemies and opposers — its termination in an endless 
period of glory and happiness. 

8. How may the Book as a ivhole he described ? 

The beginning and the end are as clear and dazzling as the 
sunlight, but the middle is dark and mysterious as midnight, 
yet with the stars and the full moon shining in the firmament. 
The Book reminds one of the chiaro-oscuro of the great painters, 
and of a mantle of the richest black broidered all over with 
brilliant jewels — these being its anthems and doxologies. The 
bulk of the Book, however, is full of puzzling enigmas which 
will not be satisftictorily solved before the Millennium. In 
this respect it is an Apocalypse that does not reveal. 

9. How is the Book regarded from an evangelical point of 
view f 

It is full of the -Blood. In the midst of its most heavenly 
scenes it celebrates the Atoning Blood. Saints sing and 



542 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

angels speak of Redemption by the Blood, Cleansing in the 
Blood, and Victory by the Blood of the Lamb. 

10. What is the favorite title by which the Saviour is referred 
to in this Book? 

The same by which He was tirst pointed out by His fore- 
runner to the disciples (John i. 35, 36) upon His entrance upon 
His public ministry — the Lamb of God. From the beginning 
to the end through the long contiict, and in the midst of the 
glorious issue, there is still the one title for Him Who conquers, 
and judges, and reigns — The Lamb. 

n. JTow docs the Jxcvclation compare with the other Books 
and 2Xirts of Holy Scripture ? 

All the beauties of the Bible are concentrated in this Book : 
all that is most touching, most vivid and majestic in the Law 
and in the Prophets, in the Gospels and in the Epistles, re- 
ceives here a new splendor, and passes again before our eyes, 
that we may be tilled with the consolations and the graces of 
all i)ast ages ; and in it, a« elsewhere, Jesus is all. A Book 
with such characteristics fitly concludes and seals the Holy 
Bible, giving, as it were, the stamp of Divinity to the whole. 

12. How may the contents of the licvelation be divided ? 

Into two principal parts : (1) that which relates to" the things 
which are" (i.-iii.) ; and (2) that which is a i)rophecy of "the 
things which shall be hereafter" (iv.-xxii.). 

13. How may the first j^art be subdivided f 

Into three parts : (1) the opening declaration, and beatitude 
(i. 1-3) ; (2) the introductory vision exhibiting tlie Divine per- 
fections and the human sympathy of the Redeemer (i. 4-20) ; 
and (3) the Addresses or Epistles to the Seven Churches of 
proconsular Asia (i. 4-iii.). 

14. What is the character of the second part f 

It consists of a series of visions, showing forth by means 
of symbolical imagery and figurative language, the conflicts 
and sutrerings of the i)eoi)le of God and His Judgments upon 
their enemies ; and concluding with a representation of the 



THE APOCALYPSE. 543 

Church of Christ, the New Jerusalem, after the Last Judg- 
ment. 

15. What is a prominent feature of the symbolic part of the 
Apocalypse ? 

Its septenary series. There are fifteen "sevens" in the Book 
— seven cliurches and seven spirits (i. 4) ; sev^eu candlesticks 
(i. 12); seven stars (i. 16); seven lamps (iv. 5) ; seven seals 
(v. 1) ; seven trumpets (viii. 2) ; seven thunders (viii. 3) ; seven 
heads and seven crowns (xii. 3) ; seven plagues, seven vials, 
seven angels (xv. 7, 8) ; seven mountains, and seven kings 
(xvii. 9, 10). Of these Sevens, there are four great series — the 
churches addressed ; the seven seals broken ; the seven trum- 
pets blown ; and the seven vials poured out. 

16. Under luhat different heads may the various theories of 
the interpretation of the prophecies of this Book be arranged ? 

Three : the Preterists, Continuists, and Futurists. 

17. Among the prophetic visions of this Book, tuhat one is 
peculiarly prominent ? 

That contained in xvii.-xviii., the vision of the Scarlet 
Woman, which Protestant interpreters agree has reference to 
the Papacy. 

18. What are the naTues of the Seven Churches in Asia to 
which John ivrote f 

Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadel- 
phia, and Laodicea. 

19. What is the substance of the messages to the Seven Churches 
in Asiaf 

(1) Ephesus : reproof for forsaking its first love and first 
works — spiritual declension ; (2) Smyrna : commendation of 
works ; poverty, endurance of persecution ; (3) Pergamos : re- 
proof for false doctrine, immoral conduct, idolatrous pollution ; 
(4) Thyatira : reproof to one party for similar corruptions ; 
commendation to the other for their fidelity ; (5) Sardis : 
reproof for spiritual deadness with mere nominal life ; (6) 
Philadelphia : approval of its steadfastness and patience ; 
(7) Laodicea : rebulve for lukewarmness. 



544 THE TEMPLE OPENED. 

20. How does John conclude each of tlic seven letters to the 
Seven Churches in Asia ? 

With the promise of a reward to the victor — the Overconier 
(ii., iii.). 

21. What are the seven beatitudes of Bevelationf 

The doers of the word are blessed (i. 3) ; tiie dead in the 
Lord are blessed (xiv. 13) ; the vigilant are blessed (xvi. 15) ; 
the marriage guests are blessed (xix. 9) ; those who have part 
in the first resurrection are blessed (xx. G) ; the keeper of the 
sayings of the prophecy of this Book are blessed (xxii. 7) ; and 
they that, doing His Commandments, wash their robes, are 
blessed (xxii. 14). 

22. How many kinds of horses are there in Revelation ? 

Four: the white horse of victory (vi. 2; xix. 11-16), the red 
horse of war, the black horse of mourning, and the pale horse 
of devastation (vi. 2-8). 

23. What are anthems and doxologies of this Book f 

Tiic Christian's tribute to Christ (i. 5, 6) ; the saying of the 
beasts and that of the elders (iv. 8, 11) ; the chorus of the 
heavenly hosts (v. 12-14) ; the angels' ascription (vii. 12) ; the 
worship of the elders (xi. 17) ; and the song of the great mul- 
titude (xix. 1-7). 

24. What two desci'iptions have we of our Lord in this Book 1 

That of His personal appearance (i. 16), and that which 
paints Him riding on a white horse, as the victorious leader 
of the hosts of the redeemed (xix. 11-16). 

25. What are the m,ost familiar passages in this Book f 

Tlie description of those who are arrayed in white robes 
(vii. 14-17), and that of the New Heaven and the New Earth 
and the New Jerusalem in the last two chapters. 

26. What particularly heautiful and expr'essive emblem of 
CiiKiST in this Book serves to connect the two Testaments to- 
gether ? 

The Star. lu the New Testament as well as the Old Testa- 
ment we have the star in the sky : the Star of Bethlehem, 



THE APOCxVLYPSE. 545 

which was the evening star of the past ; and tlie morning star 
of the future — " the bright and morning Star of Revelation." 

27. Hoiv does the Bible begin and end f 

With a dateless Apocalypse — Genesis i. being purely ajxica- 
lyptic. We have the beginning of everything in the one and 
the end of everything in the other, with the great period of 
Development between. In the one we have the Paradise Lost 
and in the other the more than Paradise Regained. In botli 
grows the Tree of Life, both being well watered with the 
rivers of God which are full of water. 

28. For ivhat is the Church of Christ under j^c^'petual and 
iveighty obligations to John the divine f 

Not only for his Gospel, Epistles and this Revelation in 
general, but for the three pictures therein he has given us in 
particular — three pictures that can never fade— in the Gospel 
the picture of Christ, in the Epistles the picture of his own 
soul, in the Apocalypse the picture of Heaven. 



35 



NOTE TO APPENDIX. 



It is of the utmost importance that in their earliest 
years the youth should be made thoroughly famil- 
iar with the leading characters, main facts, and 
salient features of the Word of God. These consti- 
tute the foundation on which in later years the 
superstructure of a larger Biblical knowledge may 
be reared. For lack of such early acquaintance, 
multitudes grow up without any certain knowledge 
of the contents of the Inspired Volume. Hitherto 
these matters have not been put into such a shape 
as to be easily available for the purpose of instruct- 
ing the youth therein. It is hoped, however, that 
The Temple Opened has solved that problem, and that 
throughout the volume, but especially here in the 
Appendix, there will be found a large mass of facts 
which can be taught by the parent in the home, by 
the primary class teacher in the Sabbath-School, and 
by the superintendent from the desk in the way of 
a supplementary lesson to the entire school. By 
giving and requiring a little each day, in a com- 
paratively short time our youth may be made as 
familiar with these Bible matters as they are with 

the rudiments of any other branch of knowledge. 
546 



APPENDIX. 



BIBLE SINGLES. 
ELEVEN LEADING BIBLE CHARACTERS. 

Adam the head of the race ; Noah the second head of the 
human family ; Abraham the father of the faithful ; Moses 
the founder of the Hebrew Commonwealth ; Samuel the head 
of the order of prophets ; David the founder of the royal house 
of Jesus ; John the Baptist the linli of connection between 
the Old and the New ; Christ the Founder and Head of the 
New Testament Church ; Peter the opener of the Kingdom to 
the Jew and the Gentile ; Paul the Planter of the Church 
among the Gentiles ; and John the Divine, the last of the in- 
spired penmen, the closer of the Canon of Holy Scripture — 
"the Apostle of the Completion.'' 

EIGHT OLD TESTAMENT MEN OF RENOWN. 

Adam the first man ; Methuselah the oldest man ; Job the 
most patient man ; Melchisedek the unique man (Gen. xiv. ; 
Heb. vii. 1-3) ; Moses the meekest man ; Samson the strongest 
man — the Hercules of the Bible ; Goliath the tallest man ; and 
Solomon the wisest' man. 

THIRTEEN REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTERS. 

Cain the fratricide— the first murderer ; Abel the first martyr 
and forerunner of all the dead ; Seth the first substitute ; 
Lamech the first bigamist ; Enoch the first of the two great 
exceptions to the entire human family in the matter of death ; 
Moses the first prophet of Israel ; Aaron the first priest of 
Israel ; Saul the first king of Israel ; Peter the first Christian 
preacher ; Stephen the first Christian martyr ; Saul of Tarsus 
the first most illustrious Christian convert ; Cornelius the first 
fruit of the Gentile world ; Paul the Apostle, the first in the 
long and glorious list of Foreign Missionaries. 

547 



INVLl.VK EXEMPLARY CHARACTERS. 

AU^I the U>Uo\vr ; Ni^Ui the ri^hUnnis ; Is^jiao the nuxlhsUivo ; 
Ji^^ph the faithful : ^huuu I the upHirhi : l>uiii iho uioal 
kinsr; Klijnh iho hor\Mo ; IXuiul ihe foados^ ; Noheniial^ the 
ivuriolio; JiVjs^^ph of Ariiaaihoa tho ivunii^vus; CuKi^r ihe 
rn^Huiuom ; ami l*aul the uu>si s^^^lf-forjjvtAa of Chris^tian 

lUOU. 

TWENTY^lVB BEACON UQHTS. 

l^un tho frairiouie; IjoI*5Si wifo tho lKU»ks»luUr: tXui tho 
uuvi! fiH>h!ih of tnuloi^: Pharaoh tho oUiimilo: Nadab aiul 
Abihu iho dis\^lHHlioiu : Kon^h and hiji ivn^v\ny of rx^lvls; 
RuUaiu iho vHMTupi : Aohau iholhiof: AaoniKvokiho oruol ; 
8ains*»n tho Uix^nlious: KH tho iiuiuU^M\t : SjuU tho a|Hv«taio; 
iioUaih tho braiTvrivrt : NalvU tho ohurl : AKsjUoin tl\o fas^t 
youniT Juau ; Ahiihv>phol tho lUv-^^Ttor ; JorvUnvun tho idohi- 
tr\>us; Joxolvl tlio wiokiHi ; Dohaxi tho ivvvtous; Kiuij Uitniah 
tl»o proisumpiuv^us: Jiulasi Isi'jiriot tho tnutor: l^Uato llto 
phaut ; Auaniaji ami 8ap|^h.ir:» iho hyinvhto^; anvl llonni 
•V^ripiKi iho aiubit ions. 

BIBLE PAIRS 

THE THREE FAIRS OF THE BOOK. 

Tho two iirand ili visions of tho l>iblo tho OM ami Now 
•l\\Maiuonts: tho two l^ibio lVH>ks oaliini atV r woiuon- IJutlt 
auii b>tlHT; tlio two i>tH>ks in winoi* noitlu^r liio Namo of 
iiOi» lu^r any allusion to il\o Oivino IVins? aiv to Iv founvi— 

i\n\tivlos and iv'ithor. 

THE FOURTEEN FAIRS OF GKNESIS. 

Tho tirst iviur-Adain ami Kvo ; tho two tiws of tho pinion 
— tliomvof IvnowliHiiivauvi tiioTrw of l.ifo : tl»o tii^^t tnuriioivr 
ami his viotim— l^«n ajul AIh^I ; llio t\vohm\< ftvni Aiiani to 
Nivaii -tiioOainitosaml ti\o Jvtiritos; tlio two w ivosof l^umvli 
- Atiaii tlio niiliinor ami ZiUal\ tl»o souii^^ttvss : tlio two sons 
of Aiiah— JalvU tlio tionisjuau and Julvd tlio musioian ; tho 
two olnliirxMi of Zillaii -TuK\l-oain tho anttHliiuvian brass 
ami iivn foin\iior. and N.u\njaii tlio iovoly ; ti»o two st>ns of 
Al>nU\ajn— Isiiao tlio oiiild of jmmustN tiu» son of S;m»h tho 
fr^v woman, and Islunaol tl^o son of llasr;^r tlio iH^ndmaid ; 
tl\o two oitios of tho plain dostnnod by Tir\^ t>\^ni Hoavon 



APPENDIX. 549 

because of their wickedness — Sodom and Gomorrah ; the twin 
sons of Isaac and Rebekah — Jacob the father of the Twelve 
patriarchs, head of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and Esau the 
progenitor of the Edomites, the hereditary enemies of their 
brethren the Israelites ; the twin sons of Tamar the incestuous 
woman an ancestress of our Lord — Pharez and Zarah ; the 
two wives of Jacob — Rachel and Leah, and liis two concu- 
bines — Bilhah and Zilpah — these four being the mothers of the 
children of Israel ; the two sons of Rachel— Joseph and Ben- 
jamin ; and the two sons of Joseph — Epliraim and Manasseh. 

THE FIVE PAIRS OF EXODUS. 

The father and mother of Moses — Amram and Jochebed ; 
the two sons of Moses — Gershom and Eliezer ; tlie brother and 
sister of Moses — Aaron and Miriam ; the two supporters of 
Moses at the battle of Rephi dim— Aaron and Hur ; the two 
kinds of food furnished the Israelites in the wilderness — quails 
and manna. 

THE THREE PAIRS OF LEVITICUS. 

The two sons of Aaron who were slain by tlie Lord for 
sacrilege — Nadab and Abihu ; the two substitutes for these 
slain priests — Eleazar and Itluimar ; the two who carried the 
corpses of Nadab and Abihu out of tlie camp — Mishael and 
Elzaphan. 

THE THREE PAIRS OF NUMBERS. 

The two courageous spies — Caleb and Joshua— who also were 
the only two of that generation who were permitted to enter 
the Promised Land ; the two kings whom Israel smote on 
their way to the Promised Land— Sihon, king of the Amorites, 
and Og, king of Bashan ; the prince of Israel and the Midian- 
itish woman who were slain for adultery — Zimri and Cozbi. 

THE PAIR OF DEUTERONOMY. 

The mounts of blessing and of cursing — Gerizim and Ebal. 

THE FOUR PAIRS OF JUDGES. 

The two heroines — Deborah the prophetess Judge and Jael 
the slayer of Sisera ; the two princes of Midian whom the 
Ephraimites slew— Oreb and Zeeb ; the two kings of Midian 



550 



APPENDIX. 



Whom Gideoa slew-Zebah and Zalumnah ; the two Judo-es 
famous for their large families-Ibzaii who had tliirty sons 
and as many daughters, and Abdon who had forty sons and 
thirty nephews. 

THE TWO PAIRS OF RUTH. 

The two sons of Naomi-Mahlon and Chihon ; and the two 
daughters-in-law of Naomi— Orpah and Ruth. 

THE FOURTEEN PAIRS OF THE TWO SAMUELS. 

The father and motlier of Samuel-Elkanah and Hannah ; 
the two wicked sons of Eli, the priest, who were slain by the 
Philistines— Hophni and Phineas ; the two degenerate sons of 
Samuel— Joel and Abijah ; the two great friends-David and 
Jonathan, the Damon and Pythias of the Bible; the two 
assassins of Ishbosheth, SauPs son— Rechab and Baanah ; the 
two sharp rocks between which Jonathan and his armor- 
bearer passed to the garrison of the Pliilistines— Bozez and 
Seneh ; the two daughters of Saul— Merab and Michal ; the two 
wives of David— Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the 
widow of Nabal the Carmelite ; the two men in whose houses 
the Ark of God dwelt— Abinadab and Obededom ; the two 
men who drove the cart on which the ark was put to carry it 
to Jerusalem— Uzzah and Ahio, the former of whom was 
slain for laying his hand upon the ark ; the two priests who 
were loyal to David in the Rebellion of Absalom— Abiathar 
and Zadok; the two messengers of David— Jonathan and 
Ahimaaz; David's loyal friend and faithless Counsellor— 
Hushai the Archite, and Ahithophel who went and hanged 
himself; the loyal octogenarian subject of David and his 
youthful substitute— Barzillai and Chimliam ; the two sons of 
Rizpah, Saul's concubine, who were hanged by the Gibeonites 
Armoni and Mephibosheth ; the two Books devoted to the 
reign of David,— Second Samuel and First Chronicles. 

THE SEVEN PAIRS OF THE TWO KINGS. 

The two men whom Solomon on his accession to the throne 
put to death— Joab and Shimei ; the two separate States into 
which the kingdom of David and Solomon was divided- 
Israel and Judah ; the two places where Jeroboam the first 
king of Israel set up calves to be worshipped as rivals of 



APPENDIX. 551 

Jerusalem — Bethel and Dan ; the two tribes which remained 
loyal to the house of David — Judah and Benjamin ; the two 
sons of Sennacherib, regicide-parricides, who assassinated their 
father tlie king in the house of his god Nisroch — Adrimmelech 
and Sharezer ; the two miracle working prophets of Israel — 
Elijah and Elislia ; the two resurrections from the dead — the 
son of the widow of Zarephath (Elijah) and that of the Shu- 
namite (Elisha). 

THE TWO PAIRS* IN EZRA. 

Zerubbabel, the leader of the first band of Exiles on their 
return from Babylon and the builder of the Second Temple, 
and Ezra the scribe, who followed later from Babylon and 
aided Zerubbabel in his work ; and the prophets Haggai and 
Zechariah. 

THE THREE PAIRS OF ESTHER. 

' The two queens of Persia — Vashti and Esther; the two 
chamberlains who sought to assassinate the king — Bigthan and 
Teresh ; the stern Jew and his envious enemy — Mordecai and 
Haman the Agagite who was hanged on the gallows he had 
built for Mordecai, who was promoted to great honor and 
power. 

THE THREE PAIRS IN THE PROPHETS. 

,. J^he two prophets to Nineveh — Jonah and Nahum ; the two 
prophets of the Captivity who wrote in Babylon — Ezekiel and 
Daniel ; the two adulterous women in Ezekiel, who are types 
of the spiritual unfaithfulness of Samaria and Jerusalem, that 
is, of Israel and Judah — Aholah aiid Aholiab. 

THE EIGHT PAIRS OP THE GOSPELS. 

i 
*■ The father and mother of John Baptist— Zechariah and Eliz- 
abeth ; the mother and foster-father of our Lord — Mary and 
Joseph ; the two persons present in the Temple at the presen- 
tation of the Child Jesus— Simeon and Anna ; the two heav- 
enly visitants at the Transfiguration of Jesus — Moses and 
Elijah ; our Lord's companions inideath — the two thieves, the 
one penitent and the other unbelieving ; the two distinguished 
inen who buried the body of the Crucified Saviour — Joseph 
the rich counsellor of Arimathea* and Nicodemus — the same 



who came to Jesus by night ; the two Marys, who were last at 



a* : 
3 t> 



552 APPENDIX. 

the Cross, and first at the Sepulchre on the morning of the 
Resurrection — Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of 
James ; the two of the Twelve who ran to the sepulchre — 
Peter and John. 

THE EIGHTEEN PAIRS OF ACTS. 

The two candidates for the bishopric made vacant by the 
death of Judas— Joseph-Justus and Matthias, the latter of 
whom was chosen ; the two leading Apostles at Pentecost — 
Peter and John ; the two persons who were summarilj'^ pun- 
ished by death for lying and hypocrisy — Ananias and Bap- 
phira ; the two sorcerers — Simon Magus of Samaria, and Ely- 
mas of Paphos in Cyprus ; tlie two cliaracters around whom, 
as centres, the contents of the Book of Acts revolve — Peter (the 
first half) and Paul (the second half) ; the first two Foreign 
Missionaries — Paul and Barnabas ; other missionary couplets 
—Paul and Silas— Silas and Timothy ; Paul's two converts at 
Atliens — Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named 
Damaris ; the two governors before whom Paul was arraigned 
— Felix and Festus ; the two commissioners sent by the Synod 
at Jerusalem to the Church at Antioch with its first formal 
deliverance (xv.)— Judas-Barsabas and Silas — prophets both ; 
the two Christian martyrs of Acts— Stephen the first, and 
James the brother of John the second ; the two female con- 
verts of Paul— Lydia of Thyatira at Philippi and Damaris at 
Atliens ; Paul's two companions in travel— Gains and Aristar- 
chus ; Paul's two ministers to Macedonia— Timothy and Eras- 
tus ; the two Roman captains into whose hands Paul fell— 
Lysias and Julius; the two resurrections from the dead- 
Dorcas by Peter at Joppa and Eutychus by Paul at Troy. 

THE FOUR PAIRS OF PAUL. 

His two warm sympathizers and helpers— A(iuila and Pris- 
cilla; the two disciples whom he ordained as ministers— Tim- 
othy and Titus ; the two blasphemers he delivered to Satan— 
Hymaneus and Alexander ; the two prominent men who 
turned away from him in Asia Minor— Phygellus and Hermo- 
genes. 

THE PAIR OF THIRD JOHN. 

Diotrephes whom the Apostle condemns, and Demetrius 
whom he commends. 



APPENDIX. 553 

BIBLE TRINITIES. 
FIVE GREAT TRINITIES. 

The three principal subjects of the Bible — God, Man, Re- 
demption ; the three great advents of the Bible — that of Adam 
upon earth, that of Christ for Salvation, and that of Christ 
for Judgment ; the three great characters of the Bible — Moses, 
Christ, Paul ; the three names which connect the great eras 
of the world — Adam, Moses, Christ ; the Trinity of trinities — 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

CHRONOLOGICAL TRINITIES. 

The three great eras from Adam till the present time — the 
patriarchal (from Adam to Joseph in Genesis, 2300 years), the 
Mosaic (Moses— Christ, 1500 years), the current Christian era, 
2000 years = 6000 years from Adam till now ; the three great eras 
of the Pentateuch — the antediluvian, the patriarchal (Noah — 
Joseph), and the Mosaic (the lifetime of Moses) ; the three 
great eras in the history of the Jews as an independent people 
— the Mosaic era proper — 80 years, the Democratic (Joshua and 
the Judges)— 450 years, the Monarchical (Saul to the Captivity) 
500 years ; the three periods from the downfall of the Jewish 
Monarchy to Christ— the captivity, 70 years, the restoration 
era, 240 years, and the period from Malachi to Christ, 400 
years. 

BIBLICAL TRINITIES. 

The threefold division of the Historical Books : from Moses 
to the Monarchy — Joshua, Judges, Ruth ; the Monarchical 
period — the three Doubles— the Samuels, Kings, and Chron- 
icles ; the period of the Restoration — Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther ; 
the threefold division of the prophets — the pre-Exile prophets, 
the prophets of the Captivity, and the prophets of the Restora- 
tion ; the three grand divisions of the New Testament — the 
Historical (the Gospels and the Acts), the Didactic (the Epis- 
tles), the Apocalyptic (Revelation) ; the three Synoptic Gos- 
pels—Matthew, Mark, Luke ; the three persons translated in 
both Testaments — Enoch, Elijah, Christ. 

trinities in GENESIS. 

Before the Deluge : the three main subjects — the Creation, 
the Fall, the Flood ; the three leading characters — Adam, 
Enoch, Noah ; the three great subjects in the Creation story 



554 



APPENDIX. 



—God, Nature, Man ; the generations from Adam to Noah 
in threes— Adam, Seth, Enos— Caanan, Mahalaleel, Jared— 
Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech— Noah ; the three sons of Noah— 
Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the Flood : the three main 
events-the Confusion of Tongues and the Dispersion of the 
people, the calling of Abraham, and the descent of Jacob and 
his family into Egypt ; the generations from Shem to Abra- 
ham in threes— Shem, Arphaxad, Salah— Eber, Peleg, Reu— 
Serug, Nahor, Terah— Abraham ; the three sons of Terah— 
Abram, Nahor, and Harau ; the three great ancestors of the 
Hebrew people— Abraham, Isaac, Jacob ; the first three great 
oriental empires— Egypt, Clialdea, Assyria ; the three great 
events in the life of Jacob— his departure from home, his return 
to his father's house, and his descent into Egypt. 

THE TRINITIES OF EXODUS. 

The three leading subjects of the Book— the Oppression of 
Israel, the Deliverance of the people, and the Transactions at 
Sinai ; the three Seas in connection with the Exodus— the 
Mediterranean, the Red, and the Dead Sea ; the three princi- 
pal events at Sinai— the Giving of the Law, the Renewing of 
the broken Tables, and the Erection of the Tabernacle. 

THE TRINITIES OF LEVITICUS. 

Its three leading subjects— the Daily Sacrifices, the Great 
Day of Atonement, and the Sacred Seasons ; the three great 
annual festivals of the Jews— the Passover, Pentecost, and the 
Feast of Tabernacles ; the three divisions of the Tabernacle— 
the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies ; the 
furniture of the Holy Place— the Golden Candlestick, the 
Table of Shewbread, and the Altar of Incense ; the threefold 
deposit in the Ark of the Covenant— the two tables of the Law, 
Aaron's rod that budded, and the pot of Manna. 

THE TRINITIES OF NUMBERS. 

The three main subjects— the Camp, the March towards 
Caanan, and the Forty years wanderings; three notorious 
characters— the rebels Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, whom 
the earth swallowed ; three mountains in connection with the 
Exodus and Wilderness Experiences- Sinai where the Law 
was given, Hor where Aaron died, and Nebo (Pisgah) where 
Moses died. 



APPENDIX. 555 

THE TRINITY OF DEUTERONOMY. 

The three main subjects of the Book — Moses's repetition and 
practical enforcement of the Law, his Dying Song, and his 
Dying Blessing. 

THE PENTATEUCHAL TRINITIES. 

Its three great subjects — Creation, the Fall and its Conse- 
quences, and the constitution of the Hebrew Commonwealth ; 
the three great prophecies respecting Christ — the Eden Gos- 
pel or the promise of victory (Gen. iii. 16), the Star and Scep- 
tre prophecy of Balaam (Num. xxiv. 17), and Moses's prediction 
of the Great Prophet like unto himself (Deut. xviii. 15). 

TRINITIES IN JOSHUA. 

The three main subjects of the Book — the Crossing of the 
Jordan, the Conquest of Palestine, and the Partition of the 
conquered territory ; the three campaigns of the Conquest — 
that on the East Side of Jordan, that on the West Side, and 
supplementary campaigns, partly during Joshua's time and 
partly afterward ; the three cities of of Refuge on the East 
side of Jordan— Bezer in the wilderness, Ramoth in Gilead, 
and Golan in Bashan ; the three on the west side— Hebron in 
Judah, Shechem in Ephraim, and Kedesh in Galilee. 

THE TRINITY OF JUDGES. 

The three most celebrated Judges— Gideon, Deborah, and 

Samson. 

THE TRINITY IN RUTH. 

Its three leading characters— Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. 

TRINITIES IN THE THREE DOUBLES. 

The three doubles themselves— the Samuels, Kings, and 
Chronicles; the three sovereigns of the United Kingdom- 
Saul, David, and Solomon ; the three sons of Zeruiah who 
were too much for David— Joab, Abishai, and Asahel ; David's 
threefold choice— famine, defeat, pestilence ; the three captive 
kings of Judah — Jehoiakim, Jehoiachln, and Zedekiah. 

PROPHETICAL TRINITIES. 

The threefold division of the prophets— the pre-Exile proph- 
ets, prophets of the Captivity and of the Restoration ; the 



556 APPENDIX. 

three proiDhetsof the Captivity — Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel , 
tlie three heroes in Daniel — Shadraeh, Meshach, and Abednego; 
tlie three prophets of the restoration — Haggai, Zechariah, and 
Malachi ; the three Books of containing its history — Ezra, 
Nehemiah, and Esther ; its three leading men — Zerubbabel, 
Ezra, and Nehemiah ; the three men in Nehemiah who 
sought to prevent the building of the wall of Jerusalem — San- 
ballat the Honorite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the 
Arabian — typical obstructionists. 

THE TRINITIES IN JOB. 

The patriarch's three friends— Ellphaz the Temanite, Bil- 
dad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite ; the three ani- 
mals of Job— the Horse, the Behemoth, and the Leviathan. 

MISCELLANEOUS BIBLE TRINITIES. 

The three Hebrew prophetesses — Miriam, Deborah, and Hul- 
dah ; the three eliildren of the prophet Hosea whose names 
were given by God Himself — Jezreel, Lo-ruhmah, and Lo- 
Ammi ; the three resurrections of the Old Testament — the son 
of the widow of Zarephath by EHjah, that of the Shunamite 
bj' Ehsha, and the man wlioiu the bones of Elijah touched, as 
they lowered him into tlie grave ; tlie three most blameless 
characters of the Old Testament — Joseph, Samuel, and Daniel ; 
the three specific prophecies respecting the coming of Christ 
in the Book of the Prophets — tliat resj^ecting His maternity 
and name, Isa. vii. 4 ; that respecting His character and office, 
Isa. ix. G, and that respecting the place of His birth, Micah 
V. 2; the three women in the Old Testament who came to 
miserable ends — Lot's wife, Jezebel, and Athaliah ; the three 
translations in the Bible — Enoch, Elijah, Christ; the three 
children exclusive of Jksus whose birth was foretold — Isaac, 
ISamson, and John the Baptist. 

gospel trinities. 

The Three divisions of the New Testament — Historical (Gos- 
pels and the Acts), Didactic (the Epistles), and Apocalyptic 
(Revelation) ; the three synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark, 
Luke ; the three members of the Holy Family — Mary, Joseph, 
Jesus ; the three scenes in the early life of Jesus— His flight 
into Egj'pt, His presentation in the Temple, and his appear- 
ance among the Doctors ; the three favorite disciples of Jesus 



APPENDIX. 557 

— jt^eter, James, John ; the three greatest scenes in the life of 
Jesus — His Transfiguration, Crucifixion, and His Ascension ; 
tlie three persons raised from the dead by Jesus — Jairus's 
daughter, tlie son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus ; the 
tliree principal sects of the Jews in the time of Christ — the 
Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians. 

TRINITIES IN THE ACTS. 

The three leading figures in the Acts whose names begin 
with P — Peter, Philip, and Paul ; the three great beneficent 
miracles wrought by Peter — the healing of the lame man at 
the gate Beautiful, of ^ueas the paralytic at Lydda, and the 
raising of Dorcas from the dead at Joppa ; the three most 
prominent events in the life of Peter in the Gospels— his con- 
fession of Christ, his denial of Christ, and his restoration to 
the Apostolate ; in the Acts — his Pentecostal preaching, his 
two miraculous deliverances from prison, and his opening the 
door of the Church (a) to the Jewish and (6) to the Gentile 
world ; the three main features of the life of Paul as recorded 
in the Acts — his persecution of Christ, his conversion to 
Christ, and his labor and sufferings for Christ ; the trinity 
of threes in the Acts — the thrice repeated vision of Peter, the 
three messengers of Cornelius, and the three missionary jour- 
neys of Paul ; the three chief miracles of Paul — the healing of 
the cripple at Lystra, the restoration of Eutychus from the 
dead, special miracles at Ephesus and the various cures on 
the island of Malta ; the triple repetition of the conversion 
of Paul — (1) by Luke in the general history, by the Apostle 
himself as a loersonal experience (2) before the mob in Jeru- 
salem, and (3) before Agrippa at Csesarea ; the three most dra- 
matic scenes in Paul's life recorded in the Acts — Paul on Mars 
Hill addressing the Athenians, on the steps of the Castle of 
Antonio at Jerusalem addressing the excited Jews, and before 
Agrippa in his own defence ; the three Capitals of the early 
Church — Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus; the three famous 
women of the early Church — Dorcas, Phebe, Priscilla ; the 
three Divinely inflicted judicial punishments recorded in the 
Acts — the death of Ananias and Sapphira, the smiting witli 
blindness of El^^mas the sorcerer, and the dreadful death of 
Herod Agrippa who was eaten up by worms ; the three mili- 
tary worthies of the Acts — Cornelius, L3^sias, and Julius — 
Roman centurions. 



558 ■ APPENDIX. 

PAUL'S TRINITIES. 

Ill his benedictions— Grace, Mercy, Peace ; his chief graces 
— Faith, Hope, Charity ; his parts of our personahty — body, 
soul, spirit ; his three deserters — Phygellus, Hermogeues, and 
Demas ; his three opposers — Demetrius the silversmith, Alex- 
ander the coppersmith, and Satan. 

THE TRINITY OF FIRST JOHN. 

The threefold characterization of God — God is Light, God is 
E/ighteous, God is Love. 

TRINITIES IN JAMES. 

The three steps to ruin — Lust, Bin, Death ; the three attri- 
butes of worldly wisdom— it is Earthly, Sensual, Devilish. 

THE TRINITIES IN JUDE. 

Those whom he addresses are sanctified, kept, and elect ; and 
he wishes them mercy, love, peace ; the instances of Divine retri- 
bution are the Israelites in the wilderness, the fallen angels, 
and the cities of the Plain ; the dreamers whom he denounces 
are corrupt, rebellious, and railing; they have walked in the 
way of Cain, Balaam, and Korah ; they are murmurers, dis- 
contented, self-willed ; they are boastful, partial, greedy of 
gain ; they are separatists, egotistic, unspiritual. Lastly, they 
are to be dealt with in three classes, of which one class is to be 
refuted in disputation, another saved by effort, and the third 
pitied with detestation of their sins ; but saints are to pray in 
the spirit, keep themselves in the love of God, and await the 
mercy of Christ ; and glory is ascribed to God before the past, 
in the present, and unto the furthest future. 

GEOGRAPHICAL TRINITIES. 

The three political divisions of the Holy Land in the time 
of Christ— Judea, Samaria, Galilee— southern, central, and 
northern divisions ; the three most famous streams of Palestine 
—the rivers Jordan, Kishon, and the brook Kcdron ; the three 
lakes on the river Jordan— Moeris, Genesareth, and the Dead 
Sea ; the three most famous plains in Palestine— Esdraelon, 
Sharon, and the Valley of Elah where David killed Goliath ; 
the three principal hills on which Jerusalem is built— Zion, 
Acra, and Moriah ; the three most famous mounts in the Holy 



APPENDIX. ■ 559 

Land — Carmel, Calvary, Olives ; the three cities of Jesus — 
Bethlehem where he was born, Nazareth where he was brought 
up, and Capernaum His official head-quarters. 

BIBLE QUATERNIONS. 

The four parts into which the Old Testament is commonly 
divided — Pentateuch, Historical, Poetical, Prophetical ; the 
four parts into which the New Testament is commonly divided 
— Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Revelation ; the four major prophets 
— Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel ; the four Evangelists — 
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John ; the four rivers of Eden— Pison, 
Gihon, Hiddekel, Euphrates ; the four women whose names 
appear in the Genealogy of our Lord as given by Matthew — 
Tamar the incestuous, Rahab the harlot of Jericho, Ruth 
the Moabitess, and Bathsheba the erstwhile wife of Uriah 
the Hittite ; the four antediluvian women whose names are 
recorded in Genesis— Eve the mother of us all, Adah and Zil- 
lah the two wives of Lamech the Cainite, and Naamah the 
daughter of Zillah ; the four kings of Genesis who fought with 
the five in the vale of Siddim — Chedorlaomer king of Elam, 
Tidal king of Nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch 
king of Ellasar ; the four rows of stones on the breastplate of 
the High-Priest : the first row, a sardius, a topaz, and a car- 
buncle ; the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a dia- 
mond ; the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst ; 
the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper ; the four 
giants of Gath — Goliath, Ishbi-benob, Saph,"and Lahmi who 
had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot ; 
the four sons of David and Bathsheba — Shimea, Shobab, Na- 
than, and Solomon ; the four unsatiated things of Solomon — 
the grave, the barren womb, the dry land, and the fire — these 
say not, it is enough ; the four wonderful things of Solomon — 
the way of the eagle in the air, of a serpent upon a rock, of a 
ship in mid-ocean, and the way of a man with a maid ; the 
four unbearable things of Solomon — a reigning servant, a 
filled fool, an odious woman when she is married, and an 
handmaid that is heir to her mistress ; the four little but very 
wise things of Solomon — the ants, the conies, the locusts, and 
the spider ; the four things of Solomon graceful in their going 
— the lion, the greyhound, the he-goat, and a king against 
whom there is no rising up ; the four exclusively Messianic 
Psalms— the 2d, Messiah's victorious War Song, the 45th, the 



5G0 APPENDIX. 

Praises of King Jesus, the 72d, the Glories of the Kingdom of 
Christ, and the 110th — the Royal Priesthood of Jesus ; the 
four periods in the history of the Jews between the Restora- 
tion and the destruction of Jerusalem — the Persian, Greek, 
Maccabean, and Roman ; the four Persian kings of the Res- 
toration — Cyrus, Canibyses (Ahasuerus), Smerdis, the Magian 
(Artaxerxes), and Darius Hystaspis ; the four faces of the four 
composite living creatures of Ezekiel — the face of a man, of a 
lion, of an ox, and of an eagle. 

BIBLE QUINTETS. 

The five Books of Moses commonly called the Pentateuch — 
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy ; the five 
poetical books — Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles ; 
the five major prophecies — Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, 
Ezekiel, Daniel ; tlie five historical Books of the New Testa- 
ment — Mattliew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts : the five nameless 
kings who went to battle in tlie vale of Siddim with the four 
(Genesis) — the king of Sodom, of Gormorrah, of Admah, of 
Zeboiim, and the king of Bela which is Zoar ; the five deserts 
connected witli the wilderness experiences of the Israelites — 
Shur, Paran, Ethan, Sinai, and Zin ; the five lands connected 
with the Exodus and the entrance into Canaan — Goshen the 
land of the Sojourn, Midian tlie land of Mo.ses's sheplierd life, 
Edoni the land of Esau's descendants, Moab the land of Lot's 
descendants, and the Land of Promise itself; the five king- 
doms into which Solomon's empire was divided — Syria in the 
north, Israel in the centre, Judah in the south, Moab east of 
the Dead Sea, and Edom south of the Dead Sea; the five 
kings of the Amorites whom Joshua hanged on as many trees 
— the king of Jerusalem, of Hebron, of Jarmuth, of Lachish, 
and the king of Eglon ; the five nameless sons of Michal or 
Merab the daughter of Saul who, with the two sous of Rizpah 
Saul's concubine, were hanged by the Gibeonites. 

BIBLE SEXTETS. 

The six creative and secular days of the week— Monday, 
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday ; the six 
Books devoted to tlie history of the Jewish Monarchy— the 
three doubles— Samuels, Kings, and Chronicles ; the six- 
winged seraphim of Isaiah— two covering the face, two the 
feet, and with the third pair they did fly ; the six events be- 



APPENDIX. 561 

tween the Flood and the Exodus — the Flood, the Dispersion, 
the rise of the great empires (Egypt, Chaldea, and Assyria), 
the migration of Abraham, the patriarchs in Palestine, and 
the Sojourn in Egypt. 

BIBLE SEPTENARIES. 

The seven days of the week — six seculars — Monday, Tuesday, 
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and the First day of 
the week, commonly called the Holy Sabbath or the Lord's 
Day ; the septenary series of sacred seasons among the Jews 
— the weekly festival of the Sabbath, the Sabbatic year, and 
the year of Jubilee ; the seven Israelite oppressions in the 
time of the Judges ; Mesopotamian, Moabite, Philistine earlier 
and later, Canaanite, Midianite, and Ammonite ; the seven 
abominable things of Solomon — the proud look, the lying 
tongue, the murderers of innocents, the heart active in de- 
vising wickedness, the feet swift in running to mischief, a 
false witness, and the sower of discord among brethren — these 
things the Lord doth hate ; the seven deacons — Stephen, 
Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Simon, Parmeuas, and Nicholas ; 
the seven non-Pauline Epistles, commonly called Catholic or 
general — James one, the two of Peter, the three of John, and 
the one of Jude ; the septenary of the Apocalypse ; the seven 
Churches in Asia — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, 
Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. 

THE DECADES OF SCRIPTURE. 

Joseph's ten brethren who went down to Egypt to buy corn ; 
the Ten Commandments ; the tenth for tithes ; the ten sons 
of Haman who were hanged ; Daniel's beast with the ten 
horns to represent ten kingdoms ; the ten pre-Exile prophets ; 
the ten virgins of the parable — five wise and five foolish ; the 
ten disciples who murmured at their ambitious brethren James 
and John ; the decades of Revelation ; the ten days of tribula- 
tion, the beast which rose out of the sea with ten horns and 
ten crowns, the scarlet-colored beast with seven eyes and ten 
horns on which sat the woman clothed in purple and scarlet, 
who is the mother of harlots and the abomination of the earth. 

BIBLE DUODECIMALS. 

The twelve sons of Ishmael which are twelve princes — 
Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Mossa, 



562 



APPENDIX. 



Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah ; the twelve sons 
of Jacob who were the twelve Patriarchs-Reubeu, Simeon 
Levi, Judah, Zebulon, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali', 
Joseph, and Benjamin; Moses's twelve spies — Shammua, 
Shaphat, Caleb, Igal, Joshua (Oshea), Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddii 
Animiel, Sethur, Nahbi, Genel ; the twelve minor prophets— 
Hosea, Joel, Amos,— Obadiah, Joel, Micah, Nahum,— Habak- 
kuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi ; the twelve 
Apostles— Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and 
Bartholomew (Nathaniel), Thomas the doubter and Matthew- 
Levi the publican, James the son of Alpheus and Lebbeus- 
Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot, the trai- 
tor ; the twelves of the Revelation— the twelve thousand of 
each of the Twelve Tribes, which make up the 144,000 which 
were sealed ; the twelve stars in the crown of the sun-clad 
woman, who had also the moon for her footstool ; the twelve 
pearly gates in the wall of the Holy City— on the east three, 
on the west three, on the north three, and on the south three; 
the twelve jewel-garnished foundations of the Holy City— the 
1st, jasper ; the 2d, sapphire ; the 3d, a chalcedony ; the 4th, 
an emerald; the 5th, sardonyx; the 6th, sardius ; the 7th,' 
chrysolite ; the 8th, beryl ; the 9th, a chrysoprasus ; the 11th, 
a jacinth ; and the 12th, an amethyst ; the twelve varieties of' 
fruit of the Tree of Life. 

GOD IN ESTHER. 

Dr. Bullinger announces the discovery of the fact that while 
the Name of Jehovah is not found regularly in Esther as in 
other Books of Scripture, it is, nevertheless, to be found in the 
Hebrew no less than four times in the form of an Acrostic ; 
and the circumstance which makes this discovery all the more 
remarkable is that the cases in which the acrostic occurs mark 
the turning 2)0 ints in the history. 

CHRIST'S POST-ASCENSION APPEARANCES. 

To Stephen at his martyrdom (Acts vii. 56), to Paul at his 
conversion (1 Cor. xv. 8), to the Apostle John (Rev. i. 10-20). 

BIBLE MIRACLES. 

Men differ as to what should be regarded as a miracle, and 
so there is a difference of some thirty-five in the aggregate of 
Old Testament miracles, some reckoning only sixty-three, and 



APPENDIX. 563 

others making as many as ninety-eight. In this last computa- 
tion all that is supernatural is counted as a miracle. The list 
by Books is as follows : 

In Genesis . 9 

In Exodus .20 

In Numbers 8 

In Joshua 5 

In Judges 5 

In the Two Samuels 14 

In the Two Kings 33 

In Daniel 4 • 

Total in Old Testament 98 

In the New Testament : 

Our Lord's miracles in the Gospels 36 

Apostles' miracles in Acts 20 

Total in New Testament 56 

Total supernatural manifestations in the entire 
Bible 154 

These do not include the many cases of miscellaneous heal- 
ings by our Lord recorded in the Gospels, nor all of similar 
cases recorded in the Acts. 

BIBLE PARABLES. 

In the Old Testament there are seven parables proper, and 
thj'ee parabolic fables. In the New Testament there are thirty 
parables proper, and nearly as many more illustrations which 
some call Parables. The whole number of conceded Parables 
in the Bible is thirty-seven oy forty. 

BIBLE PRAYERS. 

The whole number of special prayers recorded in the Old 
Testament is fifly., and in the New Testament sixteen. In all, 
sixty-six. 

THE END. 



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